The court case to determine liability for the Concorde crash which claimed the lives of 113 people in July 2000 opened today in Paris.
The case has been brought against Continental Airlines, as a 2004 investigation found that the crash - which occurred shortly after take-off - was caused by a piece of metal on the runway which came from a Continental plane. The metal pierced one of the Air France Concorde's tyres, causing debris to damage the wing and one of the engines to catch fire.
Continental Airlines denies the charges and argues that the Concorde had already shown technical faults and should never have been allowed to fly.
Five individuals are also being prosecuted in relation to the crash, including a Continental Airlines mechanic and the head of the French aviation watchdog.
Television footage of the Concorde disaster (Flickr/ab khan)
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