Q&A: Concorde crash trials

A firefighter sprays water on the debris of an Air France Concorde plane after it crashed into a hotel shortly after take off in Gonesse, France, near Paris (archive image from 25 July 2000)

The plane crashed in Gonesse shortly after taking off in 2000

A French appeals court has overturned a 2010 verdict against US airline Continental, absolving the firm of "criminal responsibility" for the Concorde air crash near Paris in July 2000 in which 113 people died. It also cleared a Continental mechanic who had been found guilty of manslaughter. However, the court upheld a ruling that the airline bore civil responsibility for the disaster and should pay operator Air France 1m euros ($1.3m) for the damage done to its reputation.

What happened?

What caused the crash?

Who was on trial in 2010?

What happened during the 2010 trial?

What happened during the 2012 appeal?

Why did the case take so long to come to trial?

What happened to Concorde after the crash?

What have the trials achieved?

Where can I find more about this on the web?

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.