Itavia Flight 870 was a domestic flight from Bologna to Palermo that tragically crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Ustica. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, was carrying 77 passengers and four crew members on the evening of June 27, 1980. Shortly after takeoff, the plane vanished from radar screens. Eyewitness reports claimed to have seen a fireball in the sky and a possible explosion before the aircraft went down. Recovery efforts uncovered wreckage scattered over a large area of the sea, raising numerous questions about the cause of the crash.

Investigations into the incident suggested various theories including a possible missile strike, a mid-air collision with a military aircraft, and a malfunction of the aircraft itself. The Italian government conducted a thorough inquiry, but the findings were often overshadowed by allegations of a cover-up involving state authorities. The crash's notoriety grew as more families of victims sought justice and transparency regarding the investigation results, with many still demanding accountability decades later.

In the years following the crash, the incident became a focal point for discussions about military transparency and aviation safety regulations in Italy. The term 'Ustica Massacre' emerged as part of a larger narrative, entwined with Cold War politics and other unsolved mysteries of the era, making the Flight 870 tragedy emblematic of unresolved tensions within Italian society regarding state secrecy and responsibility.