French court to try U.S. airline over Concorde crash that killed 113 people eight years ago

Continental Airlines and the other defendants would be charged with involuntary manslaughter, the judge said.

The order follows eight years of efforts to pin down who could be tried over the tragedy.

Destroyed: This dramatic amateur picture shows the doomed Concorde spewing a vast tail of flames even before it lifted off

The Air France Concorde crashed shortly after take-off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris in July 2000.

All 109 on board were killed and four others died on the ground as the plane slammed into a hotel.

French investigators have long claimed that the crash was partly caused by a titanium strip from a Continental Airlines DC-10 that was lying on the runway when the supersonic jet took off.

They claimed the metal strip punctured one of the Concorde's tyres, causing it to burst. This sent debris flying towards the jet's fuel tanks, puncturing them.

The tragedy forced modifications to the aircraft before it was taken out of service in 2003.

The flight, which was bound for New York, was the only fatal crash for Concorde.

One of the defendants, Continental employee John Taylor, had built and installed the metal strip 'without respecting the instructions then in effect', said a statement from the office of Marie-Therese de Givry, prosecutor in Pontoise, Paris.

Maintenance chief Stanley Ford must stand trial for 'validating the installation of the strip', the statement said.

Henri Perrier, former chief of the Concorde programme at planemaker Aerospatiale, will also stand trial, alongside colleague JacquesHerubel, an engineer.

Claude Frantzen, who handled the Concorde project for the French civil aviation authority, is also accused, the prosecutor said.

Continental Airlines has insisted it was not responsible for the crash.

A spokesman for the airline said: 'Continental remains firmly convinced that neither it nor its employees were the cause of the Concorde tragedy and we will defend ourselves vigorously against these charges.'

Thierry Dalmasso, lawyer for the former Aerospatiale employees, said the trial would probably take place next year.

He said the court did not listen to his clients' testimony, arguing the case should be dropped. 'No negligence could be proved,' he said.

The case comes at a bad time for the aviation industry. Almost all U.S. carriers have announced cutbacks.

Continental is cutting 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 jets to offset record fuel prices.

The price for a barrel of oil neared $146 for the first time yesterday.