Maintenance contractor convicted in crash; workers acquitted

VALUJET FLIGHT 592

By CATHERINE WILSON

The Associated Press

MIAMI --- In the first criminal case of its kind in the United States, an aircraft maintenance company was convicted Monday of mishandling the oxygen canisters blamed for the cargo hold fire that caused the 1996 ValuJet crash in the Everglades.

Two employees of the maintenance company, SabreTech, were acquitted, and the company also was acquitted of conspiracy and some hazardous materials charges. Even so, the company could face a fine of $4.5 million.

Flight 592 crashed shortly after takeoff from Miami, killing all 110 people on board, including Thomas Balandran and Marlo Cuevas- Balandran, of Topeka. Prosecutors said SabreTech rushed through the paperwork on the canisters to avoid financial penalties for not meeting ValuJet's deadlines.

"I sincerely hope that in some small measure today's verdict provides a sense of comfort, relief and justice," federal prosecutor Guy Lewis said.

After deliberating for 13 hours over three days, a federal jury convicted SabreTech, which is no longer in business, of eight counts of causing the transportation of hazardous materials and one count of failing to provide training in handling hazardous materials.

The company was acquitted of 14 counts of conspiracy, lying on repair records and several hazardous material charges.

"I take it as a dagger in the heart," said Gwendolyn Marks, of Miami, whose son, Philmore, died in the crash. "I am angry. I'm very angry."

SabreTech's maintenance operations went out of business after the crash and its assets were sold by Sabreliner, the parent company. In addition to the fine, Sabreliner could be forced to make restitution to the victims' families.

Former employees Daniel Gonzalez and Eugene Florence were acquitted of conspiracy and charges they lied on repair records.

Gonzalez, who could have faced 10 years in prison if convicted, showed little emotion when the verdict was read, but his wife smiled broadly. Florence, who could have faced 15 years in prison, broke into a smile.

SabreTech attorney Ken Quinn said the guilty verdicts would be appealed.

The company acknowledged mistakes were made but said they didn't amount to crimes. Defense attorneys also suggested electrical problems may have caused the crash.

The case was the first in which a maintenance company faced criminal charges in connection with an American air disaster.

The case involved 144 oxygen generators removed by SabreTech from other ValuJet planes. The canisters are usually installed over seats to supply oxygen to the masks that drop when a plane's cabin loses pressure; they were being carried as cargo on the DC-9 on May 11, 1996.

Five cartons of the generators, which resemble shaving cream cans, were delivered to the ill-fated flight without the required safety caps or any markings indicating the canisters were hazardous. ValuJet wasn't allowed to carry hazardous cargo.

Investigators blamed the generators for starting a 2,200-degree fire that spread to the jet's cabin.

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