Mon, Jul 15, 2002
It's been nearly two years since the one and only
crash of a Concorde changed the way the world looks at runway
debris and aircraft tires. The Concorde is back in revenue service;
the tires, fuel tanks, hydraulic lines, and many other detail
changes now contribute to additional safety.
The sharp-nosed supersonic transport, for thirty years the pride
of Europe, got that nose bloodied and burned on July 25, 2000, in a
takeoff accident that was the result of a compounding of unlikely
events: on the takeoff roll, the Air France Concorde ran over a
strip of titanium that had fallen from a DC-10. That resulted in a
freak tire failure, which occurred at just the wrong moment. The
tire broke apart, sending pieces of itself literally through the
in-wing fuel tank, and also severed hydraulic control lines,
starting a fire and robbing the crew of any chance for recovery.
The plane few a couple miles, and crashed into a hotel. Everybody
-- 109 -- on the plane, and four on the ground, were killed.
After a period of near-panic, and a bit of
finger-pointing, and even some environmentalist-inspired delays in
the investigation, British inspectors and the lead French team,
agreed to the above scenario. Michelin designed a new tire for
the Concorde, supplanting the OEM tires and taking over the
contract; hydraulics were both rerouted and armored; the fuel tanks
got ballistic linings and additional protection. The Concorde is
again flying, but without its pre-disaster cachet as 'the world's
safest airliner.'
A link to the English translation of the official French
investigation can be found on the website of the Air Accidents
Investigation Branch. The direct path is below.
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