The application was accepted, the court ordered the Ministry of Defense to compensate the kitersurfer Alessandro Ognibene That on 3 October 2018 he was sucked onto the beach of Ladispoli by a military helicopter during an exercise.
The sentence was issued at the end of the civil trial by the judge Adolfo Ceccarini after investigations by the Port Authority. The 54-year-old was awarded compensation of over 243 thousand euros plus accrued interest and expenses for his lawyer, Giuseppe Maccarone.
However, the criminal trial in which the head of the training called “Notte Scura 2018” and the two Chinook pilots are accused is still underway.
“When the helicopter sucked me in, I fainted and found myself in a place that isn’t here…”, said the now 54-year-old dental technician from Rome, four years after the terrible and absurd accident he had suffered. victim.
The man had been catapulted from the Chinook on the beach of Torre Flavia from a height of about ten metres.
“I remember that I regained consciousness when I was already on the ground – he said – and blood was coming out of my mouth. I wanted to get up. A security guard told me that I tried twice, but I realized that I couldn’t move. A very , very ugly”.
The civil court’s decision is a liberation, Ognibene had risked dying when he found himself at the Gemelli Polyclinic with trauma all over his body.
“As soon as the sentence came out,” he told al Corriere della Sera All good,” we cried. On an emotional level it was an important sensation even though years later I have been living with terrible pain. At night I still have nightmares, I have physical difficulties, sometimes I feel like I’ve stuck a knife in my pelvis. The other day I couldn’t get out of bed and I’m worried about my old age. But at least this satisfaction has come from the court, a small step towards the criminal process.”
Until now, the defense had always denied the impact with the aircraft, focusing more on the “gust of wind” than on the suction that tossed the kitesurfer several metres.
The memory always goes to the accident. “When the helicopter came in front of me – he remembers – and then turned, I felt a great whistle, a pressure in my ears, and I took off like a rocket. Then I fainted.” But now it’s also the time to look forward: “I know that I’ll start again and that I’ve made it. I’m full of pain and discomfort, but I’m living with it.” Next hearing Monday 8 April.
