Continental guilty over Concorde crash

Continental Airlines and a mechanic at the airline have been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their role in a crash that grounded the fleet of supersonic airliners for good.

The Concorde, carrying mostly German tourists, caught fire during takeoff from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport on July 25, 2000, and crashed into a nearby hotel.

It lead to the deaths of 113 people and hastened the end of luxury supersonic travel.

The court found three French aviation officials not guilty.

Prosecutors had been seeking a fine for Continental, now United Continental Holdings following a merger, and suspended prison sentences for a mechanic and his boss.

The French court ruled European aerospace group EADS bears some civil liability for the crash and must pay 30 percent of any damages to victims' families.

Air France, which paid millions of dollars in compensation to families of the victims, has escaped blame from investigators looking into the disaster.

Concorde was the fastest aircraft in the history of commercial aviation and a symbol of Franco-British cooperation in the field of aeronautical technology.