Official Investigated in Concorde Crash

A judge has taken the first legal action to target a French aviation official in an investigation of the Concorde crash in 2000 that killed 113 people, most of whom were German tourists, judicial officials said Friday. Xavier Champion, a former high-ranking official of France's aviation authority, was placed under investigation -- a step short of formal charges -- late Thursday for manslaughter and involuntary injury, the officials said. The probe by investigating judge Christophe Regnard found Champion did not exert enough oversight in checks of the needle-nosed jet even though the aviation authority, known as DGAC, and the plane's builder knew of operational problems before the crash. Other DGAC officials are to be heard in the case in coming weeks. The Air France Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on July 25, 2000, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground.