The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1976 is the deadliest cable car accident ever.^[1] On 9 March 1976, the steel supporting cable of an aerial tramway broke as a cable car was descending from Cermis near the Italian ski resort of Cavalese in the Dolomites, 40 km north-east of Trento.

The cabin fell some 200 metres (660 ft) down a mountainside, then skidded 300 feet (91 m) before coming to a halt in a grassy meadow. In the fall, the three-ton overhead carriage assembly fell on top of the car, crushing it. Forty-three people died, including 15 children between the ages of 7 and 15 and the 18-year-old cable car attendant. Initial reports stated 42 dead with one missing; however, the last body, that of Fabio Rustia, was found later.^[2] The only survivor was a 14-year-old Milanese girl, Alessandra Piovesana, who was on a school trip and was with two friends when the accident happened. Later she worked as a journalist for the science magazine Airone, before her death from illness in 2009.^[3][4][5]

The cable car had a capacity of 40 people or 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg). At the time of the accident it had 44 occupants – justified by the operator, as many of them were children. Most of the victims were West Germans from Hamburg. Among those aboard were 21 Germans, 11 Italians, 7 Austrians and one French woman.^[2][6][7]

The inquest found that two steel cables crossed and one severed the other. The automatic safety system which could have prevented the disaster was switched off.^[8] Four lift officials were jailed for their part in the disaster.^[2]

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