Vicenza is home to a US air base, just outside the city. In February 1998, a military plane flown by US pilots flew far too low and sliced the cable supporting the gondolas of an aerial tramway of a ski field. The plane suffered damage but returned to its base, which was Aviano, not Vicenza. The gondola was far less fortunate. All 20 occupants, 19 tourists and 1 operator, all Europeans, were killed in the 80 metre plunge.
The pilots were not tried in Italy but in the US and were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. In a second court-martial they were found guilty of obstruction of justice by destroying a videotape recording from the plane and dismissed from service. The fact that the NATO treaty had precedence over Italian laws and the acquittal verdict stirred much anger in Italy and Europe in general and strained the NATO alliance.
So it was not surprising that the presence of a US air base in Vicenza still got some locals hot under the collar.
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