Continental to face Concorde disaster trial

Continental Airlines along with five individuals will stand trial in France in regard to the crash of the Concorde that killed 113 people and was a factor in the permanent grounding of the supersonic aircraft.

In July of 2000, the Air France Concorde crashed on take-off off from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Continental Airlines and the other defendants will be on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

Continental is charged with failure to properly maintain its fleet. It has not only denied responsibility and promised to fight the indictments, it has also described them as “outrageous and unjustified.” Two Continental employees have also been charged, along with two former members of the group that manufactured the Concorde and a former French aviation official.

Air safety experts have warned that the charges could inhibit the investigations of future air accident and compromise safety by making it less likely that those involved will voluntarily supply information.

The inquiry into the crash determined that a piece of metal on the runway that had dropped off the engine of a Continental aircraft was the cause of the accident. Investigators reported that the piece of metal caused a tyre on the Concorde to blow out, and debris to slam into a fuel tank, causing a rupture, and ensuing fuel ignition.

It was the judgement of the investigators that a metal strip on the Continental airplane had been improperly fitted and fabricated of the wrong material. A report on the crash also documented that Concorde manufacturer Aerospatiale, had failed to alter the Concorde design in spite of over 70 reports of incidents regarding the aircraft’s tyres.

Following the crash, both Air France and British Airways temporarily grounded their Concorde aircraft and finally permanently grounded them in 2003.

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