Airline and Employee's to face trial over deaths in Concorde Crash

A prosecutor said Thursday that Continental Airlines and two of its employees had been ordered to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges related to the crash of a Concorde supersonic airliner in 2000 near Paris in which 113 people died.

In addition to Continental, the prosecutor also filed involuntary manslaughter charges against two employees of the Concorde program and an employee of the French civil aviation authority.

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Continental responded angrily to the French action. "These indictments are outrageous and completely unjustified," Nick Britton, a spokesman for the airline, said in London. " Continental remains firmly convinced that neither it nor its employees were the cause of the Concorde tragedy and we will defend ourselves vigorously against these charges."

The order by the prosecutor's office in Pontoise, a Paris suburb, was the latest development in a long saga since the crash, which forced Concorde's operators to make modifications to its fuel tanks before it was withdrawn from service in 2003. British Airways and Air France began flying the Concorde in 1976.

French investigators blamed the crash in part on a titanium strip on the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport that fell off a Continental Airlines DC-10 that took off before it. The metal strip was said by French investigators to have punctured a tire on the Concorde as it was taking off in July, 2000, spewing debris that ruptured a fuel tank.

The Concorde, once an icon of transatlantic luxury travel, crashed into a hotel near the airport with flames pouring from it. Four people on the ground were among the dead. The crash of the New York-bound flight, AF 4590, was the only fatal accident involving the Concorde.

The prosecutor's office said two maintenance workers from Continental, who were not identified by name, were accused of errors in installing paneling on the DC-10.

It was not immediately clear when the trial would start and Continental offered no immediate comment. In the past Continental has denied that it was responsible for the Concorde's crash and has vowed to challenge any court action against it.

Soon after the crash, Air France filed a lawsuit against Continental following the discovery of the metal strip.

Following the accident, Continental said there was no proof that it was linked to the crash. "At this stage in the investigation there is no conclusive evidence that Continental is involved in the Concorde crash," the statement at the time said. "Continental will continue to cooperate fully with all the French authorities investigating the accident."

Word of the newest charges emerged with the airline industry in turmoil as a result of runaway fuel costs caused by the high price oil, which topped $146 per barrel on Thursday.

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Last month, Continental and United Airlines, which decided in April not to merge, said they had reached an agreement to link their networks and operations worldwide.

Continental joined other American carriers last month to announce cuts in the size of their fleets, saying that it would ground 67 planes. Airlines in the United States have announced plans since March to park more than 200 aircraft, from regional jets to Boeing 747s, more than than 10 percent of the major airlines' aircraft.