Posted on 12/08/2004 5:09:03 PM PST by COEXERJ145
PARIS - Continental Airlines said today it was "outraged" at reports that French authorities want to prosecute the airline and several employees over the Concorde crash that killed 113 people in Paris four years ago.
The Houston airline issued a strongly worded statement after a French newspaper reported that investigating judge Christophe Regnard had summoned several Continental officials for interrogation and plans to place them under formal investigation along with the company.
"We strongly disagree that anything Continental did was the cause of the Concorde accident, and we are outraged by the media reports that criminal charges may have been made against our company and its employees," the airline said.
Continental said it had no independent confirmation of the charges reported in French daily newspaper Le Parisien, which did not cite sources.
The French justice ministry and the prosecutor's office handling the case declined to comment.
The newspaper said other companies or individuals were also likely to face prosecution over the accident on July 25, 2000, when a Concorde plane crashed in flames onto a hotel shortly after taking off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground.
An investigation by France's Accident Investigations Bureau concluded almost three years ago that the accident was caused by a badly installed titanium "wear strip" that had fallen off the engine housing of a Continental Airlines DC-10 that took off from the same runway minutes earlier.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Just tell the French that the the Continental pilots were Muslims, and their large familes all live in Paris. The other mitigating factor will be that they all speak French, including their 3 Imam uncles, and all will be well.
Yes a titanium "wear strip" fell off but that only caused a tire to blow on the Concorde and a blow tire is something that can and should be expected in the design
The problem was that a chunk from the tire ruptured the wing fuel tank and severed electrical cables that ignited the fuel
Didn't we kick their butts a hundred years or so ago? Have they forgotten that true Americans are itching to remind them who won?
Perhaps we should counter sue for reperations. You know, all the Americans who died liberating their sorry asses...twice??
The article reads as a criminal prosecution, not a civil action. France has its law based upon Napoleonic Codes, that is, one IS guilty until one proves themselves innocent. If the crash had occurred in the US and the Concord was US, Continental would have some contributory negligence in such a crash. In short, parts aren't supposed to fall off your airplane. Perhaps it was a French aircraft maintenance company that installed the part negligently in France. Continental would then have some defense.
But, as usual, the French are going to stink up whatever they can.
The French are at fault for not following their own procedures. They were behind schedule for the landing window at JFK. They were supposed to sweep the runway for this type of stuff prior to any Concorde takeoff. They didn’t and as a result, they lost a plane. This was the conclusion of the investigation panel. Now they are ambulance chasing for the nearest deep pockets.
"14 JUN 1979
Concorde 101 Air France, F-BVFC at Washington-Dulles
While taking off from Washington-Dulles two tyres on the left hand maingear blew. The gear could not be retracted, so the crew of Flight AF054 elected to return to Washington. Some circuitry was damaged after having been hit by debris from the tires. Debris also caused a fuel and hydraulic leak. Fuel tanks no. 2, 5 and 6 were punctured."
http://aviation-safety.net/cgi-bin/dbsearch.cgi?concorde+search+retrieve+&&1-20&Type=~Concorde%%%%dm=Line+cs=No+em=Yes+ob=Key+dfd=Yes
I rest my case.
In the US, this suit would have no chance.
I believe that the French killed more Germans on the Concorde than they did in two world wars.
Naw, it was easier than that. We contracted the Germans to conquer them. Then we moved in to save them. But no good deed goes unpunished.
ouch
LOL! FReeper line of the day!
Yeah, I should have said "prosecute" instead of "sue". Bad choice of words on my part.
FReeper line of the day!
I'll second that!
Um... what war or other event are you talking about?
The wear strip on trial is about the size of a small dog collar, something my Honda Accord can run over without puncturing the tire. If the Cocorde's tire was that poorly designed or poorly maintained, it would appear the French are merely trying to get an American airline to share liability to divert attention from this fact. Scr*w the frogs.
Nah, the DC-10 was Douglas, not Boeing.
Don't forget that Boeing took over McDonnell Douglas on July 31, 1997.
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