An Air France Concorde supersonic airliner burst into flames and crashed just after takeoff from Charles De Gaulle airport near Paris on July 25, 2000. The reason for the Concorde accident was pinned on a chunk of titanium that had dropped off a Continental DC-10 cleared for takeoff ahead of the supersonic plane. A French courtroom Monday found Continental, and specifically one of its technicians, guilty of involuntary manslaughter within the deaths of 113 individuals.
Why the Concorde crashed
About ten years ago, there is a Concorde accident. Four people on ground were killed along with all 109 people on board. An official 2004 accident report said a 17-inch long strip of titanium that had fallen off the Continental DC-10 blew out one of the Concorde’s tires. A fuel tank within the port wing was punctured by some of the chunks of rubber. A trail of flame was left by the plane as it lifted off leaking jet fuel ignited. The Concorde crashed into a motel about 10 miles north of Paris. The victims' families agreed not to sue the airline with the Concorde accident in exchange for compensation from Air France.
The judgment of the Concorde accident
The litigation for the Concorde accident was short lived. Only four months were needed. Continental Air Lines was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, fined 202,000 Euros ($268,400) and ordered to pay Air France $1 million. Concorde manufacturer EADS was also deemed culpable with the crash and ordered to pay 30 percent of damages awarded to victims. The French court prosecuted individuals involved in design, testing and certification of the Concorde for involuntary manslaughter. However, John Taylor was the only person found guilty as the Continental mechanic. He installed it wrong getting him convicted. He also violated rules that prohibit the use of titanium.
Concorde crash trial reaction
Taylor’s culpability in the Concorde accident was punished with a 2,000 Euro ($2,656) fine and 15-month suspended sentence. Continental was upset about the verdict. It was "absurd" supposedly. Taylor’s lawyers said they will appeal. The Concorde crash investigation was bogged down by the French criminal probe which got the trial some criticism. It was ten years later that Taylor was convicted. Also, the Concorde stopped flying seven years ago. Any person who had real info about the Concorde crash ended up not telling anyone about this because of fear of being persecuted which is why lawful expert said it was a bad idea to have criminal charges.
Citations
CNN
cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/06/france.concorde.trial/index.html?npt=NP1
The Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8184189/Concorde-crash-Questions-answered.html
Bloomberg
bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-03/concorde-crash-trial-may-intimidate-witnesses-harm-safety-lawyers-say.html
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