What really caused the Concorde crash?

When the tires exploded a piece hit the underside of the aircraft, which ruptured one of the fuel cells slightly ahead of the intakes to the engines 1 and 2. The fuel, which ignited, choked out the two engines on the left side, and the Concorde crashed into a hotel in Gonesse, France just 5 km from the runway.



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Despite the crew being trained and certified, no plan existed for the simultaneous failure of two engines on the runway, as it was considered highly unlikely. Aborting the takeoff would have led to a high-speed runway excursion and collapse of the landing gear, which also would have caused the aircraft to crash.

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The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recorded the last intelligible words in the cockpit (translated into English): Co-pilot: Le Bourget, Le Bourget, Le Bourget. Pilot: Too late (unclear). Control tower: Fire service leader, correction, the Concorde is returning to runway zero nine in the opposite direction.

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Technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles make a return to the skies extremely unlikely. Concorde is an aircraft that captures the imagination and is instantly recognizable even to non-aviation fanatics.

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Concorde is sadly no longer flying, but it is still possible to visit some of the remaining 18 airframes, there are others not open to the public but you can still see them.

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Because of the thunderous sonic boom Concorde trailed behind it whenever it flew faster than Mach 1, the speed of sound. As much as Americans embrace speed and convenience, the Concorde's nerve-jangling bang was unacceptable, especially since most could never afford to fly it.

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BA never suffered a serious accident with its seven strong fleet. Concorde service was profitable by the late 1980s and if not for the economic downturn and Air France Concorde crash of 2000, may have survived to this day.

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In the words of John Hutchinson, a Concorde captain for 15 years, the fire on its own should have been “eminently survivable; the pilot should have been able to fly his way out of trouble.” The reason why he failed to do so, Hutchinson believes, was a lethal combination of operational error and negligence.

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Concorde was also popular with the Queen and celebrities. Joan Collins travelled with the aircraft so frequently that she became something of an ambassador for the service. Other notable passengers included Elton John, Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and Sean Connery.

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Concorde used the most powerful pure jet engines flying commercially. The Aircraft's four engines took advantage of what is known as 'reheat' technology, adding fuel to the final stage of the engine, which produced the extra power required for take-off and the transition to supersonic flight.

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In real life, Diana took several trips aboard the Concorde, both with Prince Charles and solo.

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