Post date: Nov 29, 2012 4:52:57 PM
French appeals court clears Continental Airlines of blame for a Concorde crash in 2000, that killed 113 people.
VERSAILLES, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 29, 2012) (REUTERS) - A French appeals court in Paris on Thursday (November 29) absolved Continental Airlines of blame for the July 2000 Air France Concorde crash that killed 113 and cleared a mechanic at the U.S. airline of the charge of involuntary manslaughter.
The verdict came over a decade after the accident helped to spell the end of the supersonic jet.The appeals court overturned a previous ruling that the Concorde's crash was caused by a titanium strip that fell from one of Continental's planes onto the runway shortly before the jet took off from Paris.
Continental was originally fined 200,000 euros and ordered to pay the Concorde's operator, Air France, a million euros in damages. Continental appealed the verdict which it described as unfair and absurd.
Welder John Taylor was cleared of a 15-month suspended prison sentence for having gone against industry norms by using titanium to forge the piece that fell off the plane.
Lawyers for the defendants were satisfied with the court's ruling, recalling that evidence showed a known design flaw that put the Concorde at risk before it even left the gate.
"What caused the crash was a plane that did not have the right to fly, that should not have flown," said Continental's attorney Olivier Metzner.
"That is the unique cause, and the court reiterated -- you will soon be able to find the reasons online as the judge indicated. And you will be able to look up all the failures of the French aeronautic system, of the French aeronautic administration that allowed a plane that should not have flown to fly. Everyone knew it, everyone said it, and everyone disregarded it, and there was unfortunately a great number of deaths because the administration and the politicians did not do their jobs," Metzner added.
Head of the victims' association Stephane Giquel said the verdict left victims' families with a lot of questions and a sense of helplessness.
"What calls out to us is the sentiment of powerlessness," Giquel told reporters.
"They told us this plane should not have been allowed to fly, it did fly, and we can't come to any conclusions. What is happening for air safety? There are some who talk about sanctions, but I'd like to talk to you about air safety. They explained to us that the French system of air safety is not optimum and that it allowed a plane to fly that should not have flown -- but what's happening? In the end, we leave with a huge question mark and anxiety," Giquel added.
The Air France Concorde, carrying mostly German tourists bound for a Caribbeancruise, was taking off from Paris on July 25, 2000 when an engine caught fire. Trailing a plume of flames, it crashed into a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport. All 109 passengers and four people on the ground died.
After modifications, the plane returned to service but its operators, Air France and British Airways, retired it in 2003, citing high operating costs and a drop in demand.