Mechanic cleared of eight of 11 charges

VALUJET CRASH

By CATHERINE WILSON

The Associated Press

MIAMI --- A jet-repair mechanic was cleared Tuesday of eight hazardous materials charges in the criminal trial stemming from the crash of ValuJet Flight 592.

Prosecutors failed to prove mechanic Eugene Florence recklessly caused the shipping of oxygen generators blamed for fueling a cargo fire that downed the DC-9 in May 1996, U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King ruled.

Florence still faces one count of conspiracy and two counts of lying on repair records in his trial along with his former employer, ValuJet's repair contractor SabreTech, and a former vice president of maintenance.

The judge's decision drew a gradually widening smile from Florence, who had no comment afterward.

His lawyer, Jane Moscowitz, threw her head back in relief and later said court rules barred her from talking about "such a nice happening."

Florence removed generators from ValuJet planes and signed a work card stating he had placed required shipping caps on the used generators when he didn't. SabreTech shipping department employees packaged and delivered the generators to the flight.

King reserved a ruling on a different repair-record charge against the vice president, Daniel Gonzalez, but all other charges in the 24- count indictment stand.

The directed verdicts of acquittal by the judge in a jury trial are unusual but not rare. The motions are routinely brought by the defense based on the argument that prosecution evidence was too weak to allow a jury to consider it.

If convicted, Florence faces up to 15 years on the reduced charges. He earlier had faced up to 55 years. Gonzalez faces up to 55 years in prison and $2.7 million in fines if convicted.

SabreTech could face up to $6 million in fines plus restitution to victims' families. The Phoenix-based subsidiary of St. Louis-based Sabreliner Corp. was driven out of business after the crash and faces a separate state trial on murder and manslaughter charges.

Following the judge's ruling, defense lawyers opened their case with testimony that the lights, air conditioners and public-address systems failed three times before takeoff on the next-to-last flight of the doomed DC-9.

A "go-no go" warning light in the cockpit was still on when the pilot closed the door with the jet on the runway before takeoff, said Donald Forman, a retired boilermaker flying from Atlanta to Miami for a cruise.

Fellow passenger Pamela Hettinger also recalled the lights failing three times after pulling away from the gate and watching a mechanic work on galley floor and wall panels.

The testimony supported the defense contention that electrical problems rather than oxygen generators in cargo could have caused the crash on the next flight, May 11, 1996, killing all 110 people aboard.

The passengers also testified about the jet's lights dimming or going off shortly before landing in Miami.

Crash investigators blamed the crash on a cargo fire caused by used generators removed by SabreTech from other ValuJet planes and delivered by SabreTech to the ill-fated flight. The generators were classified as hazardous waste prohibited from flying again, but were loaded as cargo by ValuJet workers.

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