Two Continental Airlines employees and the airline itself are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for the Concorde crash of 2000 in Paris. French investigators claim that a metal strip from a Continental DC-10, which took off before the Concorde, fell off of the airplane and was on the runway. During takeoff, the Concorde hit the piece of metal with its tires, thus shredding the tires into pieces. The pieces of tires hit the fuel tanks, which apparently have been speculated to have been using thin material, causing the Concorde to ignite into flames.
Continental claimed that these charges were “outrageous and completely unjustified,” (forbes.com). However, the French investigators say that the metal strip was faulty and not built / secured properly. A French judge has asked that the airline and its employees come to court in France.
I feel as though the French are seeking someone to blame for this incident. In all my years observing the industry, Continental has been a leading carrier in service and on-time efficiency. If it was the strip that caused it, the mechanics should lose their jobs – and that’s all. The faulty construction in this story was not the strip, but the Concorde’s fuel tanks.
Could a metal strip really cause that much damage? How thorough do you think the investigation was?