Continental in Concorde appeal
- 12 years ago
PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
Continental Airlines vowed to appeal against its conviction of involuntary manslaughter over the Concorde crash in July 2000.
On Thursday that appeal was set to begin at a court in France.
In 2010 the U.S. carrier and one of its mechanics were blamed for a 40-centimetre strip of titanium on the runway which judges ruled came from one of its aircraft shortly before the crash.
The Air France supersonic jet was found to have rolled over the strip which punctured a tyre.
That sent debris upwards, holing one of the plane's fuel tanks.
The plane crashed into a hotel near Paris killing 113 people.
Continental was fined 200, 000 euros and ordered pay a million euros compensation to Air France, the Concorde's owners.
The airline branded its conviction 'absurd'.
The crash hastened the demise of the world's only civilian supersonic jet.
Safety concerns and an economic downturn after the September 11th attacks on the U.S. drove away its wealthy customers and finally consigned Concorde to aviation history.
Paul Chapman, Reuters
Continental Airlines vowed to appeal against its conviction of involuntary manslaughter over the Concorde crash in July 2000.
On Thursday that appeal was set to begin at a court in France.
In 2010 the U.S. carrier and one of its mechanics were blamed for a 40-centimetre strip of titanium on the runway which judges ruled came from one of its aircraft shortly before the crash.
The Air France supersonic jet was found to have rolled over the strip which punctured a tyre.
That sent debris upwards, holing one of the plane's fuel tanks.
The plane crashed into a hotel near Paris killing 113 people.
Continental was fined 200, 000 euros and ordered pay a million euros compensation to Air France, the Concorde's owners.
The airline branded its conviction 'absurd'.
The crash hastened the demise of the world's only civilian supersonic jet.
Safety concerns and an economic downturn after the September 11th attacks on the U.S. drove away its wealthy customers and finally consigned Concorde to aviation history.
Paul Chapman, Reuters