Continental Guilty in 2000 Concorde Crash: Court

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.

All other defendants, including Taylor's now-retired supervisor, were acquitted in the verdict. The presiding judge confirmed investigators' long-held belief that titanium debris dropped by a Continental DC-10 onto the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport before the Concorde took off was to blame. Investigators said debris gashed the Concorde's tire, propelling bits of rubber into the fuel tanks and sparking a fire. The victims were mostly German tourists. (More Concorde stories.)