Continental in hot water over Air France crash

Continental Airlines is being told to shoulder much of the blame for a deadly Air France crash near Paris, back in 2000, which resulted in 113 fatalities. According to media reports, the US-based legacy carrier and five individuals are being charged with negligence and involuntary manslaughter. Investigators argue that there had been debris on the runway at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, left there from a previous departure by Continental Airlines, and this is what caused the Air France Concorde crash. Not only was the fatal accident one of the deadliest in recent years, but it also led both Air France and British Airways to retire all Concorde airplanes three years later.

The lengthy investigation’s final report was published earlier today and it concluded that the Air France Concorde jet crashed because one of its tires had been damaged immediately before take-off, due to a metal strip that fell off the Continental aircraft which had departed only four minutes before, from the same runway. Rubber from the damaged tire then also hit the Concorde’s fuel tank, ultimately resulting in a fire and this led to the plane’s engine failure.

Continental angrily rejected allegations that it was responsible for the Air France crash. A company spokesperson told journalists that the claims were “outrageous and completely unjustified.” Continental maintains that it had nothing to do with the Air France disaster and its employees were not liable either. Despite this conviction, Continental will now have to stand trial on charges of negligence.

www.airfrance.com