Concorde

The Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) was one of only two models of supersonic passenger airliners to have seen commercial service. Concorde had a cruise speed of Mach 2.04 and a cruise altitude of 60,000 feet (17,700 metres) with a delta wing configuration and an evolution of the reheat-equipped engines originally developed for the Avro Vulcan strategic bomber. It was the first civil airliner to be equipped with an analogue fly-by-wire flight control system. Commercial flights, operated by British Airways and Air France, began on January 21 1976 and ended on October 24 2003, with the last "retirement" flight on November 26 that year.

Paris crash

The Concorde was the safest airliner in the world according to passenger deaths per distance travelled until the 25 July 2000 crash of Air France Flight 4590 in Gonesse, France, although it should be noted that the Boeing 737 fleet acquires more passenger miles and service hours in one week than the Concorde fleet acquired in the course of its entire service career. In any case, all of the people on board the flight perished, as well as four people on the ground. As the plane was on its take-off run, a metal piece punctured the tires which then burst, puncturing the fuel tanks and leading to the loss of the aircraft. The report of the investigation was published on 14 December 2004, attributing the crash to foreign object damage from a titanium strip that fell from another aircraft, a Continental Airlines DC-10 which had taken off four minutes before; the piece had not been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Related Topics:
25 July - 2000 - Air France Flight 4590 - Gonesse - France - Boeing 737 - 14 December - Foreign object damage - Titanium - Continental Airlines - DC-10 - Federal Aviation Administration

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However, there was skepticism about this report which solely blamed the strip for the accident. The French government have been extremely reluctant to share information during the investigation, implying a cover up. The British and former French Concorde pilots looked at several other possibilities that the report ignored, including an unbalanced weight distribution in the fuel tanks and loose landing gear, which hinted at the Concorde veering off course on the runway, reducing take-off speed below the crucial minimum. Some suspect that the cover up was an attempt to save the reputation of the Concorde, and to hide the fact that the Concorde had veered very close to a Boeing 747 carrying French President Jacques Chirac. Nonetheless, the crash of the Concorde was the beginning of the end of its career, regardless of the reason for the accident.

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The accident would make way for modifications to be made to Concorde. After safety updates on sufficient aircraft, including more secure electrical controls, Kevlar lining to the fuel tanks, and specially developed, burst-resistant tires, both routes were re-opened on November 7 2001.

Related Topics:
Kevlar - November 7 - 2001

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The new-style tires would be yet another contribution from the Concorde programme to future aircraft development.

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