“The fact does not exist”, correct human behaviour from both the aircrews and the two accused Officers

It has been almost a decade since the tragic event involving two Tornado aircraft over the skies of Ascoli Piceno, which resulted in the deaths of both crews.

In December of last year, the sentence of the ordinary Court of Ascoli Piceno was issued, by which Colonels Saccotelli and Di Tora were acquitted of the crimes attributed to them because the fact did not exist.

This judicial measure, with expert punctuality and clarity, substantiated what the Armed Force had maintained regarding the tragic causal chain.

The Judge indeed considered that the crew of “Freccia 21” could legitimately change their flight altitude, if such an action was deemed appropriate in terms of safety, and that the collision occurred during a series of causal factors whose synergy can only be considered extraordinary, to the extent of substantiating a fortunate accident, understood as a chain of events in which relevant human behaviours are correct and legitimate, but in which unforeseen and unmanageable factors simultaneously enter that lead towards the event.

These statements do credit to the Officers brought to trial and to both flight crews involved, in the shared awareness that the Air Force's training activity is inherently dangerous and governed by highly specialised professional technical standards.

A specialisation and professionalism that allows the Italian Air Force crews to operate every day to ensure the air defence of the country, to bring hope to those in difficulty and to save human lives with emergency medical transport, search and rescue. This is the essence and reason for being of an Armed Force that never stops, always available to the community, 24 hours a day at the service of the country.

From next week, coordination will begin with the local institutions where the tragic accident occurred to organise, in August, a ceremony in memory of our dearly departed colleagues.