Report: Air France Offers Concorde Settlement

April 18 -- Air France has offered $1.5 million to relatives of each person killed in last year's Concorde disaster, according to a published report.

If accepted, the $145 million settlement would be one of the largest in aviation history, the New York Post reported.

"The enormous quantities of money suggest that Air France feels very guilty about what happened," the newspaper quoted Jocie Schmidt, nephew of two crash victims, as saying. "But nothing brings back my relatives."

Dream Turns Into Nightmare

All 109 people aboard and four on the ground were killed on July 25 when the Concorde crashed shortly after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport. The chartered aircraft was ferrying mostly German tourists to New York, where they were to board a "dream cruise" to South America.

Investigators believe runway debris pierced a tire, pieces of which then punctured the fuel tank, triggering the spectacular explosion that caused the jet to crash in a ball of fire.

The supersonic planes were grounded shortly after the accident, but are being tested with the goal of eventually resuming service.

The Post cited Germany's Die Welt newspaper as the source of the report.

The Post said attorney Ulrich Von Jeinson, who along with Gerhardt Baum is representing 65 of the families involved, is recommending that his clients accept the settlement. The newspaper also said Air France hopes to get an answer by Friday.