APPEALS COURT REJECTS SABRETECH CONVICTIONS IN VALUJET CASE

APPEALS COURT REJECTS SABRETECH CONVICTIONS IN VALUJET CASE    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta has overturned eight criminal convictions given by a lower court to SabreTech, a maintenance company responsible for airline parts that played a role in the crash of Valujet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades on May 11, 1996, killing all 110 passengers and crew.
   The New York Times reported that the appellate panel said SabreTech had been convicted of not following rules set by the Federal Aviation Administration, while in fact the rules were not the FAA’s. SabreTech actually ran afoul of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, which presently has no criminal liability for violating provisions regarding hazardous materials.
   The appeals court let stand a ninth SabreTech conviction for not conducting hazmat training, but returned that count to a lower court for resentencing. The three-judge panel also reversed a previous court order requiring SabreTech to pay $9 million in restitution and $1.5 million in fines. In another pending trial, Florida has agreed to drop murder and manslaughter charges against the company if SabreTech pleads “no contest” to one count of criminal hazardous waste transportation, and contributes $500,000 to the state for flight safety.
   Freight forwarders involved in shipping hazardous materials have been especially interested in the outcome of this case, fearful of legal consequences should they find themselves one day in the position of SabreTech, which stopped operating after the Valujet crash.