Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870
 The reconstructed plane | |
| Date | 27 June 1980 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tyrrhenian Sea, near Ustica, Italy |
| Deaths | 81 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Interest of | Ivo Nutarelli |
Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 
Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 crashed on 27 June 1980, killing all on board, while en route from Bologna to Palermo.
Causes
Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga attributed the cause of the crash to a missile fired from a French Navy aircraft. On 23 January 2013 Italy's top criminal court ruled that there was "abundantly" clear evidence that the flight was brought down by a missile.[1]
In the book Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations, the Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman describes a plan to assassinate Yasser Arafat, the PLO-leader then resident in Tunisia. Over a period of several years, described in the book as 1982-83, The Israeli air force had a squad patrolling the sea areas outside Tunisia waiting for an opportunity to shoot down Arafats's plane.
The Mossad defector Victor Ostrovsky, in his book The Other Side of Deception claimed Israel was involved in the incident.
In June 2010, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano urged all Italian authorities to cooperate in the investigation of the incident.[2]
Legal Action
In September 2011 the Palermo civil tribunal ordered the Italian government to pay 100 million euros ($137 million) in civil damages to the relatives of the victims for failure to protect the flight and for concealing the truth and destroying evidence.[3]
Finally, on 23 January 2013, Italy’s top criminal court ruled that there was "abundantly" clear evidence that the flight was brought down by a stray missile and confirming the lower court's order that the Italian government must pay compensation.[1]
In April 2015 the appeals court in Palermo confirmed the rulings of the Palermo civil tribunal of 2011 and rejected the appeal by the state attorney.[4]
See also
Witness
| Witness | Description |
|---|---|
| Ivo Nutarelli | Italian Air Force pilot witnessing or participating in the events around the shoot down of flight Itavia Flight 870 in 1980. Died in deadly acrobatic show accident in 1988. |
