Cohen Calls for Review of NATO Flights

U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen called Saturday for a complete review of NATO forces’ low-level flights and training issues in the aftermath of a Marine flight accident that killed 20 in the resort town of Cavalese, Italy.

Appearing after a closed-door meeting with Italian Defense Minister Beniamino Andreatta, Cohen said there “is a need collectively to review our common NATO flight requirements, including low-level flight rules, to prevent such tragedies from happening again.”

The United States and NATO’s Southern Command have come under blistering criticism from Italian officials and the public since the Marine EA-6B Prowler severed a cable suspending a gondola, sending 20 people hurtling about 300 feet to their deaths.

In dispute is how low the plane was flying at the time and whether the pilot was following NATO rules or, as critics would have it, behaving like Rambo.

As investigators have begun collecting evidence as to why the aircraft was apparently flying so low, Italian critics have charged that U.S. officials have dragged their feet and permitted destruction of evidence in the case.

The low-level training flights have been considered necessary because NATO pilots sometimes need to fly below enemy radar and maneuver in mountainous terrain, such as that in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Now, Cohen told a news conference, officials will review those assumptions to see what training functions can “be carried out, and should be carried out” while allowing the public to feel safe.

At the same time, he denied the allegations of Francantonio Granero, the prosecutor in the case, that U.S. officials have destroyed data from a recorder that was in the aircraft at the time. Aboard the plane were two recorders, collecting data on tape that showed the altitude and location of the craft.

Data from one of the recorders was lost when the pilot removed it before the plane was shut down, NATO officials have said.

Despite this, Cohen insisted that “to my knowledge, there has been no tampering with that evidence.”

Cohen pledged that the United States, which has offered $100,000 to the families of victims to defray some immediate expenses, also intends to quickly honor other claims that have been brought by the victims’ families under the NATO treaty with Italy.

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Andreatta, appearing with Cohen during a NATO conference here, appeared to be only partially mollified.

He thanked Cohen and President Clinton for offering cooperation with investigators and the technical commission looking into the disaster.

But he criticized U.S. officials serving in NATO’s Southern Command, saying they stood in the way of the Italian investigation. And he predicted that NATO will have to limit low-level training exercises.

Asked whether there was any chance the U.S. pilot might surrender for prosecution under Italian law, Cohen deferred to attorneys looking into the matter.

Italian lawyers for the pilot and his three crew members said Friday that a NATO treaty denies Italy jurisdiction.

Two of the three Italian victims among the 20 dead were buried Saturday in Bressanone, Italy. The third was buried in Cavalese.

The priest officiating at the double funeral asked God why the tragedy could not have been prevented. “Why didn’t you put out your hand and stop the cable car as it fell?” the Rev. Michael Haspinger asked, according to the ANSA news agency.