March 20, 2003 -- Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has launched a legal claim against American Airlines, blaming it for "improper" flight operations that triggered the crash of Flight 587 in Queens.
"American Airlines failed to operate the aircraft in the manner that was foreseeable and normal or intended by Airbus," the European manufacturer of the doomed plane said in court papers obtained by The Post.
Relations between American and Airbus have grown increasingly frosty since the Nov. 12, 2001, crash, but the legal move has raised the stakes between the aviation giants as they attempt to deflect blame for the deaths of 265 people.
More than 200 legal suits from victims' families demanding hundreds of millions in damages have been filed against American and Airbus.
Airbus lawyers are demanding in the legal papers that American be forced to offset any damages Airbus is required to pay to settle the claims.
"Nothing Airbus did or failed to do caused the accident or any harm or injury to the plaintiffs [the victims]," say Airbus' legal papers, filed this month in Manhattan federal court.
American Airlines spokesman John Hotard yesterday called Airbus' stance "ridiculous."
Airbus' legal papers do not detail American's allegedly "improper operation" of the A-300 which took off from Kennedy Airport bound for the Dominican Republic.
NTSB investigators suspect the crash was caused in part by a series of rapid back-and-forth movements of the rudder by the pilot just after the Airbus hit wake turbulence. The plane's tail then snapped off, sending the craft into an uncontrollable dive into Belle Harbor.
"American Airlines failed to operate the aircraft in the manner that was foreseeable and normal or intended by Airbus," the European manufacturer of the doomed plane said in court papers obtained by The Post.
Relations between American and Airbus have grown increasingly frosty since the Nov. 12, 2001, crash, but the legal move has raised the stakes between the aviation giants as they attempt to deflect blame for the deaths of 265 people.
More than 200 legal suits from victims' families demanding hundreds of millions in damages have been filed against American and Airbus.
Airbus lawyers are demanding in the legal papers that American be forced to offset any damages Airbus is required to pay to settle the claims.
"Nothing Airbus did or failed to do caused the accident or any harm or injury to the plaintiffs [the victims]," say Airbus' legal papers, filed this month in Manhattan federal court.
American Airlines spokesman John Hotard yesterday called Airbus' stance "ridiculous."
Airbus' legal papers do not detail American's allegedly "improper operation" of the A-300 which took off from Kennedy Airport bound for the Dominican Republic.
NTSB investigators suspect the crash was caused in part by a series of rapid back-and-forth movements of the rudder by the pilot just after the Airbus hit wake turbulence. The plane's tail then snapped off, sending the craft into an uncontrollable dive into Belle Harbor.
