Air France sues US airline

A lawyer for the families of Concorde crash victims said Wednesday he was planning to sue Continental Airlines after investigators said one of its planes was a possible factor in the crash of the Air France jet that killed 113 people. Air France has also sued the airline, according to a statement released Wednesday by Continental from Houston, Texas, where it is based. Air France has declined to comment on the lawsuit, which Continental said was filed in France earlier this month. A Continental DC-10 took off just before the Concorde on its doomed July 25 flight. A stray piece of metal found on the runway, which French investigators have said probably fell off the DC-10, is suspected of contributing to the crash by piercing a tire and setting off a series of events that led to the supersonic jet's plowing into the ground shortly after takeoff from Paris. Attorney Christof Wellens, who represents 20 of the victims, said from his Moenchengladbach office that his lawsuit would likely be filed in a Texas

A lawyer for the families of Concorde crash victims said Wednesday he was planning to sue Continental Airlines after investigators said one of its planes was a possible factor in the crash of the Air France jet that killed 113 people. Air France has also sued the airline, according to a statement released Wednesday by Continental from Houston, Texas, where it is based. Air France has declined to comment on the lawsuit, which Continental said was filed in France earlier this month. A Continental DC-10 took off just before the Concorde on its doomed July 25 flight. A stray piece of metal found on the runway, which French investigators have said probably fell off the DC-10, is suspected of contributing to the crash by piercing a tire and setting off a series of events that led to the supersonic jet's plowing into the ground shortly after takeoff from Paris. Attorney Christof Wellens, who represents 20 of the victims, said from his Moenchengladbach office that his lawsuit would likely be filed in a Texas court. He declined to name a figure for damages sought or say exactly when he would file the lawsuit. Wellens said the airline would be "clearly negligent" if it is confirmed the piece of metal came from the Continental jet. Continental acknowledged earlier this month that the metal piece could have come from one of its planes. However, the airline said Wednesday that "at this stage of the investigation, there is however no conclusive evidence that Continental Airlines is involved in the Concorde crash."