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Concorde Crash Trial Begins in France

   VOA News 02 February 2010
   Air  France Concorde flight 4590 takes off with fire trailing from its
   engine

Photo: AP

   Air  France Concorde flight 4590 takes off with fire trailing from its
   engine  on  the  left wing from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, 25
   Jul 2000

   The  trial  of  U.S.  airline Continental and five individuals charged
   with  the  crash  of  an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people in
   2000 is set to begin Tuesday in France.
   The  defendants  include  two  employees  of  the  U.S.  carrier,  two
   employees  of  Aerospatiale,  the  company  that  made  the supersonic
   Concorde,  and  a  French  aviation  official.   All  are charged with
   manslaughter.
   The trial is expected to last four months.
   The  Concorde  crashed  in  flames  shortly  after takeoff from Paris'
   Charles  de Gaulle airport on July 25, 2000, killing all 109 people on
   board and four on the ground.
   French investigators said a strip of metal that fell off a Continental
   jet  shredded  one  of the Concorde's tires as it sped down the runway
   toward  takeoff.   Debris punctured the swept-wing plane's fuel tanks,
   triggering a fatal fire within seconds.
   The  crash in 2000 was a factor in the decision to remove all Concorde
   jets from service three years later.
   The  first  commercial passenger plane to fly faster than the speed of
   sound,  the  Concorde was flown by Air France and British Airways from
   1976-2003.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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