Continental Airlines placed under investigation over Concorde crash
by tour93 | March 11th, 2005
US airline Continental was placed under investigation by a French court for manslaughter and bodily harm in connection with the Concorde crash five years ago, which a report found was caused by a piece of metal from one of its aircraft.
But a lawyer for the company said a further investigation would reveal
Continental was not to blame for the crash of the supersonic airliner
and the death of 113 people.
“During this procedure we will provide all the elements which are
missing from the dossier and which show that Continental Airlines is
not responsible for the Concorde crash,” defence lawyer Olivier Metzner
said.
A judicial enquiry into the crash near Charles de Gaulle airport in
July 2000 concluded in December that a titanium alloy strip fell from a
Continental Airlines DC-10 that took off just before the Concorde.
The piece of metal punctured the Concorde’s tyre, sending debris
upwards into the fuel tank which then exploded. All 109 people on board
as well as four people on the ground were killed.
The report said the strip played a “direct” role in the accident,
although a “relative weakness” on the interior surface of the
Concorde’s distinctive delta-shaped wings which held its fuel tanks
also contributed.
href=”http://planenews.com/kquw”>Full
story>>
Related posts:
