PARIS — Twelve years after the crash of an Air France Concorde jet outside Paris that killed 113 people, a French appeals court (in - at -on) Thursday dismissed all criminal charges against Continental Airlines, despite (to say - saying - say) that a stray part from one of its planes led to the crash of the supersonic jet.
The ruling (reverses - reversing - reverse) an earlier court decision that (will find - found - find) the U.S.-based carrier guilty of manslaughter.
The appeals court in Versailles dismissed manslaughter charges against Continental Airlines and two of (its - it's - his) mechanics..
(Although - Anyway - Despite) the appeals court upheld the findings of aviation investigators that the accident was the result of a chain of events that began with a metal strip on the runway that fell off a Continental Airlines jet. The part punctured one of the Concord's tires, which struck the plane's fuel tank, set off a fire, and brought down the jetliner.
The court upheld Continental's civil responsibility in the case and ordered the airline (pay - to pay - paying) $1.3 million in damages to Air France. That money is intended to compensate the airline for lost business, and to be used toward settlements to the victims' families.
(Although - However - In spite) the verdict is not the end of legal proceedings in the crash.
The chief engineer in charge of the supersonic program is set to go on trial in January to determine his responsibility for the crash.
And now that the criminal case against Continental is over, Air France is free to sue the U.S. airline (for - to - as) recover the settlements to the victims’ families.
adapted from VOA
