U.S. Jet Broke Safety Laws, Italians Say

The U.S. Marine jet that severed a ski-lift cable, plunging 20 people to their deaths, violated Italian air safety regulations with its “nearly earth-shaving flight” across a snowy hillside, the prime minister of this angry nation said Wednesday.

Defense Minister Beniamino Andreatta said the American pilot should be prosecuted, several influential lawmakers said U.S. bases in Italy should be closed and Italian and U.S. investigators started looking into the accident near Trento, about 90 miles east of Milan.

“This is not about a low-level flight, but a terrible act, a nearly earth-shaving flight, beyond any limit allowed by the rules and laws,” Prime Minister Romano Prodi told reporters.

Witnesses said the Marine EA-6B Prowler swooped through the valley just above the treetops on Tuesday. Its tail severed two fist-sized steel cables, sending a gondola full of European skiers and the operator to their deaths.

Residents of this valley have long complained about low-flying jets out of Aviano Air Base at the foot of the Italian Alps.

An EA-6B pilot who flew missions in the area last year said Wednesday that it is standard procedure for pilots based at Aviano to fly low-level training routes in the Dolomite Mountains, but for safety reasons they are not supposed to be at altitudes below 1,000 feet. The pilot, who requested anonymity, said potential hazards such as ski resort cables are plotted on a flight map.

The Defense Ministry said military flights must maintain a minimum altitude of 500 feet. The cable was severed about 300 feet above the ground.

Aviano spokeswoman Capt. Tracy O’Grady said the pilot “was on an approved low-level training mission” but did not say what altitude was authorized.