<p><br /> 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.<br /> </p><p><br /> 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.<br /> </p><p><br /> It lead to the deaths of 113 people and hastened the end of luxury supersonic travel.<br /> </p><p><br /> The court found three French aviation officials not guilty.<br /> </p><p><br /> 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.<br /> </p><p><br /> 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.<br /> </p><p><br /> Air France, which paid millions of dollars in compensation to families of the victims, has escaped blame from investigators looking into the disaster.<br /> </p><p><br /> Concorde was the fastest aircraft in the history of commercial aviation and a symbol of Franco-British cooperation in the field of aeronautical technology.<br /> </p>
