"Report to blame design for Paris airport collapse"

Monday, February 7, 2005

Errors found in Paris airport accident
The Associated Press


PARIS -- A government-appointed board of inquiry investigating the partial
collapse of a Paris airport terminal found serious errors in construction,
including concrete that had not been sufficiently reinforced, a newspaper
reported Monday.

But the government's Transport Ministry said the inquiry and its report were
not completed and indicated the conclusions published by the daily Le
Parisien were "totally premature."

The newspaper said that after nine months of work, the inquiry commission
found "several serious errors in the conception" of the futuristic Terminal
2E at Charles de Gaulle airport. Specifically, it said concrete used in the
construction had not been sufficiently reinforced.

Airports of Paris, the company that operates the major airports in the
capital, said it had not received a copy of the report and had no other
comment.

Falling glass, steel and masonry killed four travelers - two Chinese, one
Czech and one Lebanese - and injured three others on May 23 when a roof
collapsed in the departure hall.

A preliminary report by experts released in July said that a weakness in the
concrete that formed the terminal's vaulted roof may have contributed to the
collapse.


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