Continental employees face trial for their role in the Concorde crash

www.flightglobal.com...

France’s public prosecutor has called Continental Airlines and five individuals, including two of the carrier’s staff, to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter following the fatal Air France Concorde crash in Paris in July 2000.

The Concorde accident inquiry found the cause of the crash – which occurred almost immediately after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport – was a main-gear tyre explosion, caused in part by a design inadequacy. The tyre was cut by a metal strip which detached from a Continental McDonnell Douglas DC-10.

woah - will this actually go anywhere? France have said it was inadequate maintenance with the previous aircraft

[edit on 4/7/08 by Harlequin]

Originally posted by Harlequin

woah - will this actually go anywhere? France have said it was inadequate maintenance with the previous aircraft

[edit on 4/7/08 by Harlequin]

Yes, it will most probably go all the way - Continental engineers installed an illegal part on an aircraft, and that illegal part was then involved in an incident. Yes, Concorde had its own flaws, and that is why there are two Concorde program participants in the dock and one aviation safety official, but that does not mitigate the fact that Continental engineers installed the illegal part and then signed off on that aircraft.