Charges Brought in Concorde Crash
07-03-2008, 06:08 AM
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Charges Brought in Concorde Crash
From Associated Press:
PARIS - A French judge ordered Continental Airlines and five people to stand trial for manslaughter in connection with the 2000 crash of a Concorde jet that killed 113 people, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Two of the people to be tried are employees of the U.S. carrier, the prosecutor in the Paris suburb of Pontoise said in a statement.
Two others were employed by Aerospatiale, the maker of Concorde and the precursor of plane-maker Airbus. The fifth is an employee of the French civilian aviation authority.
The Air France Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport in July 2000, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground when it slammed into a hotel.
French investigators blamed a titanium strip on the runway from a Continental Airlines DC-10.
The metal strip caused one of the Concorde’s tires to burst, which sent debris flying that punctured the jet’s fuel tanks. The French judicial inquiry also determined the tanks lacked sufficient protection from shock — and that Concorde’s makers had been aware of the problem since 1979.
The tragedy forced modifications to the aircraft before it was taken out of service in 2003.
The flight, which was headed to New York, was the only fatal crash for the Concorde.
Houston-based Continental Airlines Inc. has insisted it was not responsible for the crash. Airline officials did not immediately return calls early Thursday.
It was not immediately clear when the trial might begin.
The prosecutor said one of the Continental employees had built and installed the metal strip “without respecting the instructions then in effect.” His supervisor must stand trial for validating the replacement, the statement said.
Aerospatiale employees and the civil aviation official ignored a host of problems, including “neglecting the risk of fires” on the supersonic jet, the prosecutor said. The statement did not name the employees.’
The French order comes at a bad time for the aviation industry.
Continental is cutting 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 jets to offset record fuel prices. The price for a barrel of oil neared $146 for the first time ever on Thursday.
Almost all American carriers have announced major cutbacks.
PARIS - A French judge ordered Continental Airlines and five people to stand trial for manslaughter in connection with the 2000 crash of a Concorde jet that killed 113 people, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Two of the people to be tried are employees of the U.S. carrier, the prosecutor in the Paris suburb of Pontoise said in a statement.
Two others were employed by Aerospatiale, the maker of Concorde and the precursor of plane-maker Airbus. The fifth is an employee of the French civilian aviation authority.
The Air France Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport in July 2000, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground when it slammed into a hotel.
French investigators blamed a titanium strip on the runway from a Continental Airlines DC-10.
The metal strip caused one of the Concorde’s tires to burst, which sent debris flying that punctured the jet’s fuel tanks. The French judicial inquiry also determined the tanks lacked sufficient protection from shock — and that Concorde’s makers had been aware of the problem since 1979.
The tragedy forced modifications to the aircraft before it was taken out of service in 2003.
The flight, which was headed to New York, was the only fatal crash for the Concorde.
Houston-based Continental Airlines Inc. has insisted it was not responsible for the crash. Airline officials did not immediately return calls early Thursday.
It was not immediately clear when the trial might begin.
The prosecutor said one of the Continental employees had built and installed the metal strip “without respecting the instructions then in effect.” His supervisor must stand trial for validating the replacement, the statement said.
Aerospatiale employees and the civil aviation official ignored a host of problems, including “neglecting the risk of fires” on the supersonic jet, the prosecutor said. The statement did not name the employees.’
The French order comes at a bad time for the aviation industry.
Continental is cutting 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 jets to offset record fuel prices. The price for a barrel of oil neared $146 for the first time ever on Thursday.
Almost all American carriers have announced major cutbacks.
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