Wed, Dec 15, 2004
French Prosecutor: There Was A "Direct Causal Link" Between
Continental DC-10 And Accident
A French prosecutor
Tuesday said there was a "direct causal link" between a titanium
strip he said fell from the engine nacelle of a Continental
Airlines DC-10 and the crash of an Air France Concorde at Charles
de Gaulle Airport near Paris four years ago. It's another step
toward a possible criminal indictment of Continental executives in
the search for those who contributed to the accident.
The fiery July 25th, 2000 accident claimed the lives of all 109
people aboard the Concorde, as well as four others on the ground.
As ANN reported last week, French prosecutors
caught Continental executives by surprise when they alleged a
titanium wear-strip from the engine of the DC-10 fell off the
engine nacelle. About five minutes later,
investigators say the Concorde rolled over the strip. The metal
punctured the supersonic jetliner's tires. The tire debris
punctured a fuel tank, igniting a spectacular plume of fire as the
Concorde departed the runway. The aircraft went down in a parking
lot near the airport.
The strip was made of titanium. French officials say the
original wear-strip on the DC-10 in question was made of aluminum.
That metal, they theorized, would never have punctured the
Concorde's tires -- aluminum is too soft, they said. Because
Continental workers apparently replaced the strip with one made of
non-standard parts, prosecutor Xavier Salvat said there was a
"direct causal link" between the strip's installation and the
Concorde's crash.
French judge Christophe Renard is conducting a manslaughter
investigation into the Concorde accident. As part of the probe, he
has summoned top Continental executives to Paris to hear their
testimony.
"We strongly disagree that anything that Continental did was the
cause of the Concorde accident," Nick Britton, the company's United
Kingdom spokesman, told Reuters. "We are confident that there is no
basis for criminal action and we will defend any charges in the
appropriate courts."
More News
Runway Lead-in Light System Runway Lead-in Light System Consists of one or more series of flashing lights installed at or near ground level that provides positive visual guidance a>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Without Borders Aviation Without Borders uses its aviation expertise, contacts and partnerships to enable support for children and their families – at hom>[...]
Dave Juwel's Aviation Marketing Stories ITBOA BNITBOB ... what does that mean? It's not gibberish, it's a lengthy acronym for "In The Business Of Aviation ... But Not In The Busine>[...]
From 2010 (YouTube Version): Yeah.... This IS A Really Cool Job When ANN's Nathan Cremisino took over the lead of our Aero-TV teams, he knew he was in for some extra work and a lot>[...]
Also: Junkers A50 Heritage, Montaer Grows, Dynon-Advance Flight Systems, Vans' Latest Officially, the Carbon Cub UL and Rotax 916 iS is now in its 'market survey development phase'>[...]