Marine Pilot to Face Obstruction Charges

The pilot of a Marine jet that severed a ski gondola cable in the Italian Alps, killing 20, will be arraigned on a second set of charges Monday, the Marine Corps said Friday.

Capt. Richard J. Ashby, 30, of Mission Viejo will be asked by a military judge at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base to enter a plea on new charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice stemming from the incident on Feb. 3.

Ashby and his navigator, Capt. Joseph P. Schweitzer, 30, of Westbury, N.Y., will be tried back to back in courts-martial hearings here beginning Feb. 4, 1999.

The two Marines face life imprisonment on 20 counts of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, as well as dereliction of duty, destroying military property and destroying civilian property.

The Marines were flying an EA-6B Prowler electronic surveillance jet on a low-level training mission over the Italian Alps when it clipped two gondola cables, sending 19 skiers and the car operator plummeting nearly 400 feet.

At the time, the Marines were based in Aviano, Italy, flying NATO support missions over Bosnia. The incident sparked calls to close Italian military bases to U.S. troops.

The most recent charges, which were handed down in August, are related to a videotape seized as evidence from inside the cockpit. Italian authorities gave the videotape to the American government in July. Officials have used high-tech equipment to determine whether the videotape had been erased, played over or was simply blank.

During a hearing last month, Ashby chose to be tried separately on the obstruction charges. A schedule for a separate general court-martial will be set at Monday’s hearing.