France to hand over files on 1980 Ustica air disaster to Italian investigators
France's defence ministry has agreed to release documents to Italian investigators probing the 1980 Ustica plane crash that killed 81 people, prompting prosecutors to halt plans to shelve the decades-long case.
Italian authorities are set to receive documents from France connected to the June 27, 1980 crash of an Itavia DC-9 passenger plane near the island of Ustica in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The aircraft, flying from Bologna to Palermo, broke apart in mid-air and plunged into the sea, killing all 81 people on board — 77 passengers and four crew members.
The disaster, known in Italy as the "strage di Ustica," has been clouded by decades of contradictions and alleged cover-ups. Officials initially blamed mechanical failure, but it later emerged that radar tracking data had been erased at nearly all nearby Italian military bases. Several air force generals faced trial on charges of treason and withholding evidence, though none were convicted. At least 15 people connected to the case have since died under unclear circumstances.
In 2013, Italy's highest court ruled the plane was downed during a military confrontation — either by a missile or a near-collision — without naming those responsible. A widely held theory holds that the real target was a smaller Libyan aircraft using the DC-9 to evade radar detection. In 2007, former Italian president Francesco Cossiga claimed French military aircraft had shot down the Itavia flight while attempting to target Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Daria Bonfietti, who heads an association representing victims' families, said it has long been established that the plane was shot down during a combat operation, though those responsible remain unidentified. She hopes the new French documents will clarify the whereabouts of the French aircraft carrier Foch that night, since witness testimony conflicts with France's official account. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly raised the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron during a June summit, a move believed to have paved the way for the document release. France's defence ministry said it has always responded to Italian judicial requests but did not specify whether previously classified material would now be disclosed.
