Three years after the crash ...
The Associated Press
M I A M I, July 2 — Under pressure from families of
ValuJet crash victims, federal prosecutors were
expected to file charges soon against a
maintenance contractor and some of its
employees.
SabreTech Inc., which already has been fined for its
lapses, expects to be indicted unless an agreement can be
reached with prosecutors, company attorney Ken Quinn
said today.
Some relatives of the 110 victims are pushing for tough
charges against SabreTech and ValuJet executives, but a
government source said today an indictment was expected
to charge a few line workers with knowingly falsifying
documents.
The indictment was expected within two weeks, the
source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source said more serious charges such as negligent
homicide are not expected because there's no evidence
that someone had intentionally placed flammable oxygen
canisters on the plane knowing they would explode.
Company Denies Criminal Behavior
Quinn denied there is evidence of any criminal behavior,
saying the May 11, 1996, crash was “the result of an
inadvertent series of errors and omissions by many
parties.”
But attorney John Howie, who represents the families
of several victims, said an indictment was long overdue.
He called charges against low-level workers “perhaps
appropriate, but it's unfortunate.”
All 105 passengers and five crew members died when
the DC-9 nose-dived into the murky Everglades swamp
minutes after takeoff from Miami on a flight to Atlanta.
Flames from a cargo fire had torn through the floor of the
passenger cabin.
Crash investigators concluded SabreTech employees
improperly labeled the oxygen canisters, which had been
placed in the cargo hold by ValuJet workers.
SabreTech was fined a record $2.25 million by the
Federal Aviation Administration for improperly handling
the canisters.
The criminal investigation began while crews were still
at the crash site trying to recover pieces of the jet.
After the third anniversary of the crash, families of
victims sent letters to Attorney General Janet Reno and
Congress, complaining that too much time had passed
without action.
The crash investigation split the blame among
SabreTech, ValuJet and the FAA for lax oversight.
ValuJet merged with the Orlando-based discount
carrier AirTran after the crash and flies under the name
AirTran.
SabreTech was owned by St. Louis-based Sabreliner
at the time of the crash and has since been sold. |
