Concorde trial starts in France 10 years after crash

The Concorde, carrying mostly German tourists bound for a deluxe Caribbean holiday cruise, was taking off in Paris on 25 July 2000 when an engine caught fire. Trailing a plume of flames, it crashed into a hotel in the town of Gonesse, 6 km (4 miles) southwest of Charles de Gaulle airport.

Investigations found that a small piece of metal from a Continental aircraft that had taken off before the Concorde had punctured its tyres, sending debris into the sleek drop-nosed plane's fuel tanks and setting off the fatal fire.

U.S. carrier Continental (CAL.N) has always denied responsibility for the crash and questioned the safety record of the ageing Concorde.

The trial, held at a modern court house in the small town of Pontoise, some 30 kilometres north of Paris, could have wide-ranging implications for the way the airline industry maintains its planes and the stringency of security measures.

The airline and the five individuals are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter for the crash. The accused men include John Taylor, a welder who worked for Continental at the time of the crash and his supervisor, Stanley Ford.

Henri Perrier, the head of testing of the Concorde programme before becoming its director, and Jacques Herubel, the plane's former chief engineer, are also accused, as is Claude Frantzen, former head of France's civil aviation body.

All 109 passengers, including three children, and four hotel employees on the ground died in the crash.