French Seek Manslaughter Charges in Concorde Crash

Conviction would result in multi-million dollar fine

(NEWSER) - Continental Airlines will have to stand trial for manslaughter over its role in the explosive crash of an Air France jet, a French judge ruled today. Five individuals have also been charged in the 2000 accident, which saw a Concorde jet burst into flames while leaving a Paris runway, killing all 109 people aboard and four others on the ground. More»

Airline, mechanic fined for manslaughter

(AP) - A French court found Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics guilty of manslaughter today in the crash of a supersonic Concorde jet outside Paris a decade ago that killed 113 people. The court ruled the Houston-based airline must pay a $265,000 fine; the mechanic, John Taylor, must pay $2,650. Taylor was also handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - It's been 10 years since an Air France Concorde, once the pride of passenger aviation, took off from a Paris airport in flames before crashing into a nearby hotel. Investigations in the years that followed found that the accident was caused by a piece of titanium that had fallen off a Continental Airlines DC-10. Now Continental and two former employees will finally answer charges of involuntary manslaughter in a trial that starts tomorrow near Paris. More»

Verdict of trial expected in December

(NEWSER) - Some 100 family members, witnesses, and Air France officials today marked 10 years since a Concorde jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport, plowing into a hotel. Air France flew in family members from Germany, where most of the victims were from, and gave them flowers to place at a monument in Gonesse, made of transparent glass with a piece of an airplane wing jutting through it. Families lay flowers in silence, reports the AP, though officials spoke briefly at the ceremony. More»