Pilot error blamed for cable car accident that killed 20 in Italy
     WASHINGTON - Feb 26, 1998 10:06 p.m. EST - U.S. Marine investi-
 gators have determined that pilot error caused the fatal cablecar
 accident that killed 20 people at an Italian ski resort earlier this
 month, it was reported Thursday.
     Italian prosecutors and U.S. Marines are both trying to deter-
 mine why an EA-6B Prowler surveillance aircraft was flying low
 enough on Feb. 3 in the Dolomite mountains of northeastern Italy to
 slash the cablecar's overhead wires, sending all the people aboard
 plunging to their deaths.
     NBC News quoted sources close to the investigation as saying
 that pilot error was believed to have caused the accident and inves-
 tigators had found no evidence of any mechanical malfunction that
 would have contributed to the accident.
    Investigators had determined that the aircraft was flying through
 the mountains at around 500 mph, at an altitude of less than 400
 feet, 1,600 feet below the minimum permitted level for that region,
 NBC reported on its "Nightly News" program.
    It said investigators based their information on the plane's
 mission data recorder and an Air Force AWACS radar plane that
 tracked the fatal flight from overhead.
     The sources said all four crewmembers have refused to tell
 investigators, under threat of criminal charges, why they were
 flying so low, NBC reported.
     U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Scott Campbell declined to confirm the
 report, saying the investigation was still under way.
     "The bottom line is the investigation is not over. I do believe
 they're getting close to completing it," he said. "The investigation
 team is still looking at some aspects of the investigation and until
 that point in time the final conclusions won't be made," Campbell
 added.
     NBC said one final test of the plane's altimeter would be per-
 formed this weekend. The investigators' findings would be given to
 commanding officers next week to determine if criminal charges were
 warranted.
     NBC said the pilot saw the gondola wire at the last instant and
 swerved the plane to avoid it, but it was too late. It also quoted
 sources as saying the crew was given a 1,000-foot minimum at a pre-
 flight briefing at the U.S. airbase at Aviano, instead of the cor-
 rect 2,000 feet.
     The accident has soured relations between Italy and the United
 States and Italy last week said it would ask Washington to let it
 try the U.S. Marines involved if manslaughter charges were found to
 be warranted.
     The U.S. military has acknowledged the four-man crew were flying
 far too low.
     Under a NATO agreement dating from 1951, the pilots would have
 the right to trial in their home country if they are charged in con-
 nection with the disaster.
     But Italian Justice Minister Giovanni Maria Flick said any such
 trial should take place in Italy rather than in the United States
 because of the anger the accident provoked here and because some
 Italian citizens might also be responsible.
     A spokesman at the U.S. airbase at Aviano where the twin-jet
 plane landed after the accident said the military would give full
 consideration to any request for jurisdiction. 
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        Struck by lightning, plane runs off runway in Alabama
     BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (February 26, 1998 9:36 p.m.) -- A US Airways
 flight was struck by lightning Thursday as it approached Birmingham
 International Airport, forcing it to land without use of its nose
 gear.
     None of the 98 passengers or five crew members were injured.
     US Airways Flight 861 out of Charlotte, N.C., lost hydraulic
 power after sustaining two lightning strikes around 5:30 p.m., said
 airport spokeswoman Carol Windham.
     The Fokker 100 jet landed on the airport's main east-west run-
 way and skidded off into mud. Emergency crews were on the scene.
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                    Pan Am grounded again
 Two subsidiaries file Chapter 11 as carrier keeps looking for financing
     NEW YORK - Feb 26, 1998: 7:26 p.m. ET - Pan Am Corp.'s two main
 subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday, forcing the
 troubled airline to temporarily halt operations on Friday.
     In a statement, Pan Am said it is seeking additional financing or
 a merger partner to attempt to resuscitate the airline.
     In the meantime, Pan Am is asking rival carriers to accept pas-
 sengers who are ticketed on Pan Am. However, the airlines are not
 obligated to honor Pan Am tickets.
     The bankruptcy filings by Pan American Airways Corp. and Pan
 American World Airways Inc. are the latest financial crisis to buffet
 the airline since it returned to the skies in 1996.
     The original Pan Am disappeared in 1991 after it was forced into
 bankruptcy by the 1989 bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie,
 Scotland.
     In 1996, an investor group led by former Pan Am executive Martin
 Shugrue acquired the Pan Am name and launched a limited service
 carrier offering flights  from New York to Los Angeles and New York
 to Miami.
     Despite offering low fares, the airline struggle to compete with
 larger carriers that already had well established routes and a strong
 customer base.
     Last Thursday, Pan Am said it was grounding its two remaining
 wide-body Airbus aircraft and furloughing about 225 employees in an
 effort to save cash.
     Pan Am shares (PAA) were down 1/8 in Thursday trading to close
 at 3/4.
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