A former Continental Airlines maintenance boss accused of
manslaughter over the Paris Concorde disaster has told a court that
his job was mainly administrative.
Prosecutors say that Stanley Ford, 70, gave the OK for another
mechanic, 41-year-old John Taylor, to replace a metal strip on a
DC-10 plane which investigators claim caused the disaster. They
believe the strip fell off the aeroplane and on to the runway,
later gashing the Air France Concorde's tyre, sending pieces of
rubber into the fuel tanks and sparking a fire.
Asked if he was expected to double-check the quality of workers'
repairs, Ford said he had to have confidence in mechanics' ability
to perform their jobs.
Continental denies any responsibility, saying a fire broke out
on the Concorde before the plane reached the runway debris.
The crash in July 25, 2000, which saw the plane plunge from the
sky and hit an hotel, killed all 109 people on board and four on
the ground.