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| French court overturns manslaughter conviction over Concorde crash | French court overturns manslaughter conviction over Concorde crash |
| (4 months later) | |
| A French appeals court has overturned a manslaughter conviction against Continental Airlines over the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people, ruling that mistakes by the company's mechanics were not enough to make it legally responsible for the deaths. | A French appeals court has overturned a manslaughter conviction against Continental Airlines over the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people, ruling that mistakes by the company's mechanics were not enough to make it legally responsible for the deaths. |
| The crash hastened the end for the already faltering supersonic Concorde, which was taken out of service in 2003. | The crash hastened the end for the already faltering supersonic Concorde, which was taken out of service in 2003. |
| A French court initially convicted Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics in 2010 for the crash and imposed about €2m ($2.7m) in damages and fines on the carrier. | A French court initially convicted Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics in 2010 for the crash and imposed about €2m ($2.7m) in damages and fines on the carrier. |
| The lower court ruled that the mechanic fitted a metal strip on a Continental DC-10 that fell on to the runway, puncturing the Concorde's tyre. The burst tyre sent bits of rubber into the fuel tanks, which started the fire that brought down the plane near Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport. | The lower court ruled that the mechanic fitted a metal strip on a Continental DC-10 that fell on to the runway, puncturing the Concorde's tyre. The burst tyre sent bits of rubber into the fuel tanks, which started the fire that brought down the plane near Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport. |
| "This was a tragic accident and we support the court's decision that Continental did not bear fault. We have long maintained that neither Continental nor its employees were responsible for this tragic event and are satisfied that this verdict was overturned," Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the company, said. | "This was a tragic accident and we support the court's decision that Continental did not bear fault. We have long maintained that neither Continental nor its employees were responsible for this tragic event and are satisfied that this verdict was overturned," Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the company, said. |
| Parties including Air France and Continental compensated the families of most victims years ago, so financial claims were not the trial's focus – the main goal was to assign responsibility. | Parties including Air France and Continental compensated the families of most victims years ago, so financial claims were not the trial's focus – the main goal was to assign responsibility. |
| In France, unlike in many other countries, plane crashes routinely lead to trials to assign criminal responsibility – cases that often drag on for years. | In France, unlike in many other countries, plane crashes routinely lead to trials to assign criminal responsibility – cases that often drag on for years. |
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