1998 Cavalese cable car crash
1998 incident involving a US Marine Corps aircraft and a cable car in Italy
Why this is trending
Interest in “1998 Cavalese cable car crash” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.
Categorised under History, this article fits a familiar pattern. Historical topics gain renewed attention when tied to commemorations, documentaries, or current events that echo past episodes.
GlyphSignal tracks these patterns daily, turning raw Wikipedia traffic data into a curated feed of what the world is curious about. Every spike tells a story.
Key Takeaways
- The Cavalese cable car crash , also known as Strage del Cermis ( lit.
- Twenty people were killed when a United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft, flying too low and too fast, against regulations, cut a cable supporting a cable car of an aerial lift.
- Ashby, and his navigator, Captain Joseph Schweitzer, were put on trial in the United States and found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide.
- The disaster, and the subsequent acquittal of the pilots, strained relations between the U.
- At 15:13 local time it struck the cables supporting the aerial lift from Cavalese.
The Cavalese cable car crash, also known as Strage del Cermis (lit. 'Cermis massacre'), occurred on 3 February 1998, near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort in the Dolomites some 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Trento. Twenty people were killed when a United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft, flying too low and too fast, against regulations, cut a cable supporting a cable car of an aerial lift.
The pilot, Captain Richard J. Ashby, and his navigator, Captain Joseph Schweitzer, were put on trial in the United States and found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. Later they were found guilty of obstruction of justice and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman for having destroyed a videotape recorded from the plane, and were dismissed from the Marine Corps. The disaster, and the subsequent acquittal of the pilots, strained relations between the U.S. and Italy.
Details of the disaster
On 3 February 1998, an EA-6B Prowler, BuNo (bureau number) 163045, 'CY-02', callsign Easy 01, an electronic warfare aircraft belonging to Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 (VMAQ-2) of the United States Marine Corps, was on a low-altitude training mission. At 15:13 local time it struck the cables supporting the aerial lift from Cavalese. The aircraft was flying at a speed of 470 knots (870 km/h; 541 mph) and at an altitude above ground level (AGL) of between 80 and 100 metres (260 and 330 ft) in a narrow valley between mountains.
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
