Death of Tito Traversa
Tito Claudio Traversa was a 12-year-old Italian climber who died of complications from a climbing accident in which he fell from a height of 50 feet to the ground on July 2, 2013. An investigation by French officials revealed that his quickdraws were assembled incorrectly, with the carabiners threaded only through the rubber keeper, and not through the full-strength sewn loop at the ends of the quickdraws that are designed to support the climber's weight. According to public prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello, eight out of ten of Traversa’s quickdraws were assembled this way.
Five people were subsequently charged with manslaughter: the owner of the company that produced the rubber keepers without instructions; the owner of the gear shop that sold the keepers; the manager of the club that organized the climbing trip; and two of the instructors who were at the climbing site.
On May 16, 2018, a court in Turin sentenced Traversa's instructor to two years imprisonment. The owner of the climbing school and the owner of the company that manufactured parts for the quickdraws were acquitted.