Concorde crash verdict announced
Monday, 07 Dec, 2010
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Continental Airlines has been judged to blame for the Concorde crash in Paris a decade ago that killed 113 people.
The airline plus its mechanic JohnTaylor shouldered the blame for the crash after the court found them to be guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
The airline will now have to pay Air France €1m while Taylor is to be fined €2,000. He was also given a 15-month suspended prison sentence.
The court heard that safety failures on a Continental DC10 meant that debris was left on the runway that the supersonic plane used for take-off at Charles de Gaulle airport.
The debris in question was a small strip of titanium metal which shredded a tyre on Concorde, causing bits of it to rupture the fuel tanks and cause an explosion.
Taylor was responsible for fitting the titanium strip. His supervisor, however, was acquitted of any blame.
Continental’s lawyers have always argued that Concorde was on fire before it hit the titanium but the French court dismissed this.
European airspace company EADS will also shoulder some civil liability for the accident which claimed the lives of mainly German tourists. It will pay 30% of any damages granted to victims’ families.
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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