Concorde grounded amid fears it may not fly again
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Your support makes all the difference.All Concorde aircraft were grounded by British Airways yesterday ahead of the withdrawal of their certification to fly. The move may herald the end of an era of supersonic passenger flight.
All Concorde aircraft were grounded by British Airways yesterday ahead of the withdrawal of their certification to fly. The move may herald the end of an era of supersonic passenger flight.
The ageing aircraft's airworthiness certificates will be cancelled today, in the wake of the investigation into last month's crash of an Air France Concorde.
British and French investigators found debris from a burst tyre had torn through the fuel tanks in the left wing and ignited the fuel in its tanks.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said: "Over the last few days it has emerged that a single tyre burst was the cause of the accident and as a result we are of a view that the certificate should be suspended."
Winning back the certification, which the planes have had for 25 years without a fatal accident, will require changes to ensure that if a tyre bursts it cannot "have catastrophic consequences", the French Air Accident Bureau said yesterday.
That would require the strengthening of the underside of the wing, probably with panels of Kevlar, the material used for bulletproof vests. All other planes now use Kevlar to protect the engine housings.
British Airways and Air France, which respectively operate seven and now five Concordes, were reluctant to speculate as to how much it would cost to make such changes, and whether the cost might be completely uneconomical. Concorde parts have to be made on a one-off basis, as the last complete aircraft was made in the Seventies.
But a spokesman added: "We should not see this as the end of Concorde". Planes have won back certification in the past, including the DC-10 airliner, which did so after a series of crashes.
British Airways' chief executive, Rod Eddington, called it "a very disappointing day" and added: "Everyone at BA has enormous affection for the aircraft. But, at the end of the day, we rest on information provided by the accident investigators and regulators. We hope Concorde can be put back in the air."
Concorde incidents with burst tyres date back to 1978. In 1993 a tyre burst on landing at Heathrow, puncturing the right wing and damaging an engine. After that, BA - but not Air France - modified the tyre design, and a fibreglass fitting that fits between the tyres.
BA will have to study the CAA's requirements before it can say whether the required changes are already incorporated into its design.
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