Cyclic Hotline
1st Nov 2001, 09:43
Court Throws Out ValuJet Convictions
Appeals Court Throws Out Most Convictions in ValuJet Crash Case
By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out eight of nine convictions and most of an $11 million penalty against a defunct jet repair company blamed for the 1996 ValuJet crash that killed 110 people.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said federal law at the time of the crash did not support SabreTech's conviction and sentence on eight counts of causing the transportation of hazardous materials.
"This was a tragic accident,'' Judge Joel Dubina wrote. "However, the record is clear that SabreTech and its employees did not intend to kill these people.''
The 1999 conviction -- the first of an aviation company in a U.S. air disaster -- came after prosecutors argued the company recklessly supplied the hazardous oxygen generators blamed for the cargo hold fire that caused the Miami-Atlanta flight to crash May 11, 1996, in the Everglades.
The company was sentenced last year to pay $2 million in fines and $9 million restitution. But the appellate court said that under the federal law in effect in May 1996, SabreTech could only be convicted if its employees knew the oxygen canisters were dangerous.
U.S. District Court Judge James Lawrence King had agreed with federal prosecutors, who argued SabreTech could be found guilty if its employees had been reckless in shipping the canisters. That's the law now, but it wasn't changed until several months after the crash, the appellate court ruled.
The appeals court did uphold the company's conviction of willfully failing to train its employees according to federal hazardous material regulations. Several SabreTech employees testified they had never received such training, even though it was mentioned in a company manual.
The court told King to re-sentence the company on that single conviction. It faces a maximum fine of $500,000.
"We are very pleased with the decision to dismiss eight counts, but we are disappointed that the court left the last count untouched,'' SabreTech attorney Martin Raskin said. SabreTech "personnel committed mistakes, but they did not commit crimes.''
He said the company, a subsidiary of Sabreliner Corp., has been out of business since 1999 and does not have enough money to pay a $500,000 fine. It may appeal the remaining conviction, Raskin said.
Aloyma Sanchez, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Miami, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Sharon Moss, who lost her brother and sister-in-law in the crash, said she was "dismayed'' about the appeal court's decision, but said the ruling furthered aviation safety by upholding the failure to train conviction.
"I still feel like it's a victory,'' Sharon Moss said from her Gastonia, N.C., home. "Especially in this time of national crisis, anything that furthers the cause of aviation safety is praiseworthy.''
Federal investigators concluded SabreTech, ValuJet and the Federal Aviation Administration shared responsibility for the crash. ValuJet now flies under the AirTran name.
Prosecutors in Florida announced last week that pending state murder charges against the company would be dropped under a plea bargain requiring its parent, Sabreliner Corp., to spend $500,000 on aviation safety.
A hearing on the plea bargain is set for Dec. 7.
Appeals Court Throws Out Most Convictions in ValuJet Crash Case
By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out eight of nine convictions and most of an $11 million penalty against a defunct jet repair company blamed for the 1996 ValuJet crash that killed 110 people.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said federal law at the time of the crash did not support SabreTech's conviction and sentence on eight counts of causing the transportation of hazardous materials.
"This was a tragic accident,'' Judge Joel Dubina wrote. "However, the record is clear that SabreTech and its employees did not intend to kill these people.''
The 1999 conviction -- the first of an aviation company in a U.S. air disaster -- came after prosecutors argued the company recklessly supplied the hazardous oxygen generators blamed for the cargo hold fire that caused the Miami-Atlanta flight to crash May 11, 1996, in the Everglades.
The company was sentenced last year to pay $2 million in fines and $9 million restitution. But the appellate court said that under the federal law in effect in May 1996, SabreTech could only be convicted if its employees knew the oxygen canisters were dangerous.
U.S. District Court Judge James Lawrence King had agreed with federal prosecutors, who argued SabreTech could be found guilty if its employees had been reckless in shipping the canisters. That's the law now, but it wasn't changed until several months after the crash, the appellate court ruled.
The appeals court did uphold the company's conviction of willfully failing to train its employees according to federal hazardous material regulations. Several SabreTech employees testified they had never received such training, even though it was mentioned in a company manual.
The court told King to re-sentence the company on that single conviction. It faces a maximum fine of $500,000.
"We are very pleased with the decision to dismiss eight counts, but we are disappointed that the court left the last count untouched,'' SabreTech attorney Martin Raskin said. SabreTech "personnel committed mistakes, but they did not commit crimes.''
He said the company, a subsidiary of Sabreliner Corp., has been out of business since 1999 and does not have enough money to pay a $500,000 fine. It may appeal the remaining conviction, Raskin said.
Aloyma Sanchez, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Miami, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Sharon Moss, who lost her brother and sister-in-law in the crash, said she was "dismayed'' about the appeal court's decision, but said the ruling furthered aviation safety by upholding the failure to train conviction.
"I still feel like it's a victory,'' Sharon Moss said from her Gastonia, N.C., home. "Especially in this time of national crisis, anything that furthers the cause of aviation safety is praiseworthy.''
Federal investigators concluded SabreTech, ValuJet and the Federal Aviation Administration shared responsibility for the crash. ValuJet now flies under the AirTran name.
Prosecutors in Florida announced last week that pending state murder charges against the company would be dropped under a plea bargain requiring its parent, Sabreliner Corp., to spend $500,000 on aviation safety.
A hearing on the plea bargain is set for Dec. 7.