Henri Perrier

Henri Perrier is the former head engineer for France's Concorde program, and one of five defendants in the manslaughter case of Concorde flight 4590. The plane crashed on the runway in the year 2000, killing 113 people. Like his co-defendant Jacques Herubel, Perrier was instrumental in designing the Concorde in the 1960s and 1970s.¹ Other defendants include two Americans—employees of Continental Airlines—and a French government official.

Fast Facts

1. French national
2. Helped develop Concorde
3. Crash occurred July 25, 2000
4. Site of crash: Charles de Gaulle Airport, France
5. Co-defendants: Jacques Herubel, Claude Frantzen, John Taylor, Stanley Ford

Allegations

The Concorde crash was reportedly caused by a fuel tank explosion due to debris on the runway.² According to French investigators, Perrier and co-defendant Jacques Herubel failed to design the Concorde's fuel tanks with enough shielding, and have known about the flaw since 1979.²

Statement

In 2001, Perrier made the following comments to the Associated Press.

• "Nothing we knew would ever have led us to believe that such a catastrophe could happen. This was a catastrophic mishap."¹

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