France willing to provide documents on Ustica massacre after 46 years

France has communicated its willingness to provide the documentation previously withheld regarding the Ustica air disaster, which occurred on June 27, 1980. The breakthrough came behind the scenes of diplomacy during the latest bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron, held on June 26 in Antibes.

Following this development, the Rome Prosecutor's Office will withdraw the request for dismissal at the hearing scheduled for September 30. The documents, covering a long period starting from the 1990s, could help reconstruct the missing pieces of the mosaic concerning the massacre that claimed 81 lives.

The Ustica massacre is one of the unresolved mysteries of Italian history. On June 27, 1980, Itavia Flight 870, a DC9 departing from Bologna bound for Palermo, crashed in the skies near Ustica, causing the death of all 81 people on board. Investigations have consistently indicated the presence of other military aircraft in the area that day.

According to investigative reconstructions, a Libyan Mig fighter jet was flying over Italy to escort a mission for Colonel Gaddafi, hiding in the shadow of the DC9. Over the Apennines, this Mig would have been intercepted by a French fighter (and later by an American one), leading to an aerial battle in which the civilian DC9 became involved. The wreckage of the Libyan Mig was found in the Sila region three weeks later, with the autopsy of the pilot confirming his death on the same day as the disaster. For 46 years, France has consistently opposed the declassification of its military documents regarding the incident.