The defendants for the Castiadas plane crash, which in 2007 cost the life of the surveyor from Perugia Paolo Marcagnani, his wife Sonia Baccianella and her friend Roberta Stanzione, were all fully acquitted by the Cagliari Court of Appeal. Thus the first instance sentence, which had sentenced the owners of the Castiadas airfield, a manager and two ENAC inspectors to sentences of between 3 and 5 years in prison, was overturned.
The three victims had left Foligno on the morning of August 30, 2007 aboard a single-engine Rockwell Commander AC 114B, owned and flown by Marcagnani, bound for Sardinia, arranging to land on the dirt runway of Maloccu, Olia Speciosa (in the municipality of Castiadas). After the first one went wrong, the second landing attempt was fatal: the small plane crashed and the three died instantly.
16 years later, the verdict of acquittal arrives for Francesco Persico (at the time director of Cagliari airport) defended by the lawyer Fabio Basile, Marco Veloce (airport inspector) defended by Francesco Pisano, Rita Macis (airport inspector) defended by Anna Maria Serra, Paolo Contini and Efisio Contini (airfield managers) defended by Stefano Pirisi and Michele Capellari. On appeal, the Attorney General Giancarlo Moi also concluded for the acquittal.
"We managed to clarify the extraneousness to the facts that occurred and that the airfields such as Antica Sardegna di Castiadas do not present conflicting profiles with the legislation in force", comments the lawyer Basile with satisfaction, "our condolences remain for the families of the victims, to whom we always been close. But we are aware that such a disgrace cannot find comfort from the injustice of a condemnation of innocent people".
(Unioneonline/E.Fr. - Gianluigi Deidda collaborated)
