Italian, U.S. Officials Differ on O.C. Pilot’s Route in Tragedy

U.S. and Italian officials gave clashing versions Thursday of how a U.S. Marine jet pilot from Mission Viejo on a training mission near here could have sliced through a ski-lift suspension wire and sent 20 people aboard a cable car plummeting to their deaths.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Guy Vanderlinden, deputy commander of NATO naval strike and support forces in Southern Europe, said the EA-6B Prowler jet was following a standard low-level training route Tuesday at prescribed altitudes ranging from 500 feet to 2,000 feet when it severed the cable.

He said the pilot, identified as Capt. Richard J. Ashby, 30, was an experienced Marine aviator with more than 750 flight hours who was fully briefed on safety risks in crowded areas. While leaving open the crucial question of why the plane was flying low enough to hit the cable, Vanderlinden told reporters at the U.S. air base here, “I do not believe the pilot diverted from the approved route.”

But Italian Defense Minister Beniamino Andreatta told Parliament the jet had strayed off course by at least six miles and should not have been flying any lower than 2,000 feet. “There would not have been any danger had the aircraft kept to the regulations,” Andreatta said.

Learning afterward of Vanderlinden’s remarks, Andreatta said, in a pointed rebuke to the U.S. general: “It would be appropriate if whoever did not have enough detailed information on the issue remained silent.”

Italian officials have said the crowded cable car fell about 300 feet, but it was unclear at what altitude the lift cable was severed.

The four crew members, who have refused to answer Italian investigators’ questions so far, have been grounded while the investigation continues.

Ashby’s mother, Carol Anderson of Mission Viejo, said she spoke to her son after the accident.

“He’s doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” she said.

She added that her son’s attorney has advised the family not to discuss the situation. She declined further comment about the accident or her son, saying only, “He’s a wonderful boy and I love him.”