Third official summoned in Concorde crash

A former executive of the company that made Concorde jets was summoned for questioning today, the third official in a week to go before investigators probing the deadly 2000 crash.

Philippe Toulouse, an engineer and the head of security for Aerospatiale, was to be questioned by investigating judge Christophe Regnard. Aerospatiale is now part of EADS, the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.

On Tuesday, Henri Perrier, a former head of the Concorde programme, was placed under investigation – a step short of formal charges – for manslaughter and involuntary injury in connection with the crash.

Another Aerospatiale executive was questioned on Wednesday.

Perrier, 76, became the first person to be placed under investigation in the case – five years after the crash that led to the end of the supersonic jets that ferried the rich and famous across the Atlantic.

The Air France Concorde crashed on July 25, 2000, shortly after takeoff from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground.

Two investigations – one by France’s accident agency, the other by the prosecutors’ office – concluded that a titanium strip left on the runway by a Continental Airlines DC-10 was to blame. The metal strip had caused a Concorde tyre to burst, propelling rubber debris that perforated the jet’s fuel tanks, located under the wings.

Continental was placed under investigation in March for alleged manslaughter and involuntary injury. French prosecutors contend that the carrier violated Federal Aviation Administration rules by using titanium in a part of the plane that normally called for use of aluminium, which is softer.

The French judicial inquiry also determined that the jet’s fuel tanks lacked sufficient protection from shock – and that Concorde’s makers had been aware of the weakness since 1979.