- hace 6 horas
On July 25, 2000 a Concorde supersonic jet operating as Air France Flight 4590 takes off from Charles de Gaulle Airport. A piece of metal from a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 that fell onto the runway impales the Concorde's tire, which explodes. Debris is flung into the wing, causing a fire and the Concorde's crash into a hotel in Gonesse, killing the 100 passengers and nine crew members on board, as well as four others in the hotel.
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00:03Concorde, the airliner that makes supersonic travel a reality.
00:08Sleek and graceful, flying twice the speed of sound,
00:11a symbol of prestige with a perfect safety record.
00:17But 113 people will perish in just 120 seconds.
00:24Now, using cutting-edge computer technology,
00:27we reveal exactly what went wrong.
00:31Disasters don't just happen, they're a chain of critical events.
00:38Unravel the fateful decisions in those final seconds from disaster.
00:49Europe.
00:51France.
00:53Paris.
00:55July 25, 2000.
00:58Charles de Gaulle Airport.
01:0412.30 in the afternoon.
01:08100 men, women and children check in for flight AF-4590.
01:12They come from all over Germany and are expecting the trip of a lifetime.
01:18A dream holiday, costing at least 7,000 pounds each.
01:24It starts with a supersonic flight on Concorde to New York.
01:30Then, a luxury cruise in the Caribbean.
01:35For Jörg Mayer's father, it's a special treat to celebrate his retirement.
01:41He had his 65th birthday in 2000, and he wanted this as a treat for himself and his partner.
01:47They both liked to travel, and it always had to be something a bit special.
01:55Concorde is a plane like no other.
01:57Elegant, luxurious, and above all, super fast.
02:02Flying at more than 2,200 kilometers per hour, Concorde links North America to London or Paris in three and
02:09three-quarter hours.
02:11Concorde's unique shape, with a pencil-thin cabin and vast delta wings, enable her to race across the sky at
02:17three kilometers every six seconds.
02:21John Hutchinson has flown Concorde for 15 years.
02:26The best way of describing it is simply to say that it was a thoroughbred.
02:30It was a beautiful, responsive, powerful airplane.
02:37Like, I don't know, Kentucky Derby winner, if you like.
02:46By 1.30, all of the passengers are checked in for their supersonic trip.
02:51The pilot, Captain Christian Marti, is already in the cockpit, preparing for the flight.
02:58The holidaymakers are in good hands.
03:0054-year-old Marti is one of Air France's most experienced pilots.
03:05An adventurer of extraordinary talents.
03:10In 1982, Christian Marti was the first Frenchman to windsurf across the Atlantic.
03:15He's a national celebrity.
03:21On board Concorde, Captain Marti runs through his pre-flight check.
03:28His air traffic controller is the experienced Gilles Lojelin,
03:32who arrives to start his afternoon shift.
03:39I was on GTL, the southern control tower of Paris airport, Charles de Gaulle.
03:47This particular day I was not supposed to work.
03:50One of my colleagues, the day before, asked me for a transfer of shift.
03:54So, he did my morning shift and I did his afternoon shift.
04:01With the change of shift comes an unexpected bonus.
04:04Gilles Lojelin is now the controller responsible for Concorde's departure.
04:09The Concorde is one of the most beautiful planes I have ever seen.
04:12The line is pure.
04:15I really like to watch this plane landing, taking off.
04:22During his pre-flight check, Captain Marti learns that engine number two has a technical fault.
04:29A small part needs replacing.
04:32It isn't serious, but with Concorde, safety is always paramount.
04:37After 40,000 flights and 900,000 flying hours, there's never been a fatality.
04:45The repair delays Concorde's departure by one hour.
04:513.54
04:55The passengers start to board.
05:00Among them are the Eich family, Christian and Andrea,
05:04and their two young children, Maximilian and Katerina.
05:10Klaus and Margaret Frensen are both school teachers who've saved for the trip for 20 years.
05:16Ordinary families off on an extraordinary adventure.
05:24At 4.35 in the afternoon, Concorde is ready to depart.
05:32Anticipation on board Mance, as the supersonic jet taxis to the runway.
05:37In the control tower, Gilles Lauchelin clears Air France Flight 4590 for take-off on runway 26R.
05:48It's 4.40 in the afternoon.
05:51So far, for passengers and crew, everything is normal.
05:57Captain Marti lines up the plane at the start of the runway, ready to release the power of Concorde's four
06:02Rolls-Royce engines.
06:05For senior pilot John Hutchinson, a moment like this is always special.
06:12As you open the throttles up to full power, you'll feel this huge surge of power in the small of
06:18your back as the aeroplane accelerates down the runway.
06:21And you just get the feeling that the one thing the aeroplane wants to do at that point is to
06:25get into the air as quickly as possible, into its natural environment.
06:37In the control tower, Gilles Lauchelin monitors the take-off.
06:42I was watching the Concorde getting power on the runway because it was so nice to see that.
06:49It's a very heavy plane, so you know that the beginning is quite slow and you gain the speed.
06:57Concorde accelerates down the 4,000-meter runway.
06:59It passes through 320 kilometers per hour.
07:03Using computer graphics, we recreate what happens next.
07:09For Gilles Lauchelin, it's a moment of sheer horror.
07:13Suddenly, I saw a flame just behind the body of the aircraft.
07:23I jumped on my mic to say, Air France 4590, you have flames behind you.
07:31Captain Marti cannot see the flames, but accelerating through 328 kilometers per hour, Concorde is committed to the take-off.
07:38There are only 2,000 meters of runway left, but Concorde needs 3,000 meters to have any chance of
07:44stopping safely.
07:46After the speed, whatever is the situation, the plane has to take off.
07:51He could not abort the take-off.
07:52As I was watching the flames, I saw the nose of the Concorde lifting up.
08:03At 4.43 in 15 seconds, Captain Marti pulls on the control stick.
08:11Concorde takes to the air.
08:17This is how Concorde flight AF-4590 appears to witnesses.
08:25Martin Borne works in an office on the western edge of the airport.
08:28At 4.44, she sees a terrifying sight.
08:35I was looking out of my window, and I saw Concorde taking off very slowly, with the back of the
08:40plane on fire.
08:42I was really afraid.
08:43Because of the flames, I was convinced that the plane was going to explode right here in front of the
08:48office.
08:53The stricken airliner flies directly overhead.
09:04Close by where Martin works, courier Emmanuel Vermignon is driving his van past the end of the runway.
09:12When Concorde went over, I had the window open, and I was wearing a polo shirt.
09:16And I can tell you that the heat the plane was belching out melted parts of my shirt and gave
09:21me little blisters.
09:23I could really feel the heat on the ground.
09:25I could see the heat.
09:26I could see the heat.
09:27I could see.
09:30While Captain Marti struggles with the controls to gain altitude, out of his vision, flames engulf the left wing.
09:40the sickening sight is caught on camera by the wife of a truck driver it is the only video
09:45footage ever captured showing Concord on fire it'll prove to be a vital link in the investigation
10:08at Paris Airport a supersonic Concorde has just taken off but now the plane is on fire and 109 people
10:15on board are facing peril the next 69 seconds will be critical 443 and 30 seconds Concorde is struggling
10:27to remain in the air it's only 30 meters off the ground and the crippled plane is on a collision
10:32course the town of Gones and its 25,000 people lie directly in its path driving towards the petrol
10:43station she owns in Gones is Christine Turpan I was returning home when I saw a plane it was Concorde
10:54with fire coming out of the back of it I slowed down and slowed down and I saw the plane
11:01in flames
11:19I was in my office talking to an agency the window faces the runway and I was interrupted by an
11:31incredible noise it was it was on fire and it was listing violently Concorde lurches to the left
11:49the plane stalls and plunges to the ground
11:58it's 4 45 it's the moment every air traffic controller dreads
12:10Gilles Vagelin reaches for his mic I've called the Air France and I said Air France 4590 do you hear
12:23me I said it twice
12:34there was no answer
12:55the supersonic jet loaded with fuel and 109 people on
13:00on board crashes right on top of a hotel on the outskirts of Gones
13:09a terrifying fireball tears through the building
13:16British teacher Alice brooking has just checked into a first-floor room
13:21so I went straight for the door of the room that I was in
13:26saw the flames so there was no way out by the stairs
13:33I leapt across the room leapt across the bed to the window
13:39saw luckily that the receptionist was already down in the car park underneath me
13:43and he just said you have to jump
13:47at the same time Christine Turpin also witnesses the explosion and fears the worst
13:55it fell and from where I was I thought it had landed on the gas station and I thought because
14:01my daughter and the girl who works me were there that they were all dead
14:08as Christine Turpin drives in a passenger armrest falls onto the petrol station
14:17it's a chilling reminder for Christine of the fate of the passengers
14:24when you saw the armrest you couldn't help but imagine what it must have been like for the people on
14:28board the plane
14:35within eight minutes of the crash dozens of fire engines and ambulances race to the sea
14:42an appalling tragedy not just for those on Concorde but for those in the hotel
14:50regional fire chief colonel Fabrice Chauvin leads the rescue
14:55whilst driving there were many things going through my mind
14:59the important thing for me was to divide the operation into two separate parts
15:04one the aircraft crash extinguishing the fire and the rescue of any survivors
15:08and two organizing treatment for the wounded before they were evacuated to hospital
15:16the intensity of the fire is so great that it'll take three hours to bring it under control
15:22as these TV news images show the charred remains of the airliner and the hotel are unrecognizable
15:32the rescue attempts of futile 113 people die four from the hotel and 109 passengers and crew in Concord
15:53three generations of the Eich family are wiped out the children's grandparents had wanted to treat the family to a
15:59holiday of a lifetime and a book the Concord flight
16:07school teachers Klaus Klaus and Margaret Frensen had saved for 20 years to fly on Concord
16:17rescuers begin the gruesome task of pulling the bodies from the crash site
16:27one of the hotel workers to die is a 19 year old student Kenza Rashid she joined the staff of
16:34the hotelissimo only the day before the crash to earn some holiday money
16:39another victim is chambermaid Devreni Chandang Singh she dies leaving behind her two children
16:49most of the bodies are burned beyond recognition and the forensic pathologists can only identify victims by their dental records
17:04it's a harrowing time for the victims relatives like Jorg Meyer
17:09one of the more difficult things was the identification of my father and his partner
17:14one has to say nothing much remains of the passengers after an air crash
17:20that was difficult
17:23Jorg will have to wait two weeks before pathologists identify the remains of his father
17:28that's how long we had to wait
17:31you can imagine that that's not exactly easy day after day
17:43the crash takes everyone by surprise
17:46concord the queen of the skies the plane that makes supersonic travel a reality
17:52people's dreams come true had never had a fatal accident until this moment
18:01it takes just 120 seconds to shatter that perfect record
18:08now by rewinding the events of that fateful day and by going deep into the investigation
18:13we can reveal what really happened
18:16all
18:19cutting-edge computer simulation will take us when no camera can go into the heart of the disaster zone
18:32the French Bureau of Air Accidents send their top investigators
18:36using their data we can now piece together the deadly chain of events to find out what really caused this
18:42terrible tragedy
18:44as the investigation begins nothing is off limits
18:50did pilot captain marty make a fatal error or was there a fault hidden within the perfect plane
19:01investigators make routine checks of the passenger and luggage lists
19:05immediately they find something suspicious 19 pieces of luggage that according to the loading report should not have been on
19:12the plane
19:13they don't belong to the passengers on flight af459 oh
19:19could a terrorist have smuggled a bomb onto the plane
19:25it wouldn't be the first time 270 people died in 1988
19:29when terrorists planted a bomb in the luggage that destroyed a pan am 747 in the infamous lock of the
19:36incident
19:41at gonnes investigators divide the concorde crash site into a grid in order to make a meticulous search
19:48they photograph and tag everything found in each section
19:57it's a painstaking process which takes four weeks
20:02then every bit of wreckage is taken away for identification and analysis
20:08three hangers at la bourget another paris airport become their final resting place
20:14this pile of debris is all the remains of the hotel
20:17such is the intensity of the crash and fire that a four-room building is reduced
20:22a little more than a pile of rubble
20:29and this is what remains of concorde
20:36one of the world's finest examples of modern engineering is now just a tangle heap of charred rubber
20:42aluminium
20:44melted plastic
20:46and fractured hydraulics
20:51the french investigators separate and identify every fragment
20:56among these burned remains lie the crucial clues to the cause of concorde's crash
21:08within hours the french bureau of air accidents team recover the black boxes
21:14these devices are carried on all airliners to record important technical data
21:18and crucially the pilots conversation from the cockpit
21:26they analyze the black boxes they hear no sound of an explosion
21:30it's clear to them terrorism is not to blame
21:34the investigators are forced to look for a new lead
21:41they focus on the last minute engine repair captain marty orders just before takeoff
21:49they know concorde return from new york the previous day with a faulty thrust reverser on engine number two
21:58thrust reversers help to slow the planes down after they've landed
22:06the
22:06investigators analyze the flight data recorder closely but find no evidence that a faulty thrust reverser could
22:12cause the accident
22:15the pressure to find an answer increases until they do the french authorities ground all air france concorde flights
22:24the spotlight is now on the 120 seconds from the start of concorde's final takeoff
22:31captain john hutchinson has flown hundreds of concorde takeoffs
22:36now once you've lined up on the runway the captain will then punch on the stopwatch and open the throttle
22:44fully
22:47the captain's job is to keep straight down the runway the co-pilot's job is to do the speed calls
22:53and the flight engineer is sitting there and he's monitoring all the instruments in particular this bank
22:59of instruments here which are the engine data from the black boxes makes it clear that everything is normal
23:09until concorde reaches 323 kilometers per hour
23:17concorde is now only 79 seconds from disaster
23:27data recorders reveal a sudden loss of power in both engines under the left wing
23:34immediately the black box picks up the dramatic warning from the control tower
23:37of the aircraft
23:39of the aircraft
23:47despite the warning pilot christian marty has passed the point of no return
23:52there's not enough tarmac to stop safely he has to take off
23:57he pulled back on the control column to rotate the airplane up to its nose up angle of 12.9
24:05degrees
24:06and he was having problems with the left-hand engines
24:11not producing the power they should have and he would have been working very hard
24:18trying to control the airplane trying to get speed
24:23but of course he was being overwhelmed by these problems uh on the left-hand engines
24:30the engines become the new focus of the investigation
24:34why did they lose power at such a critical time
24:43just two minutes into its journey air france concorde flight af4590 crashes killing 113 people
24:51a devastating blow to the world's first supersonic airliner
24:58using advanced computer graphics based on the official report we go deep into the investigation
25:03to unravel the deadly chain of events
25:08investigators know the two left engines lose power as concorde passes 323 kilometers per hour on the runway
25:15but why
25:19then an important new clue the french investigators find several fragments of tire on the runway one of
25:26them weighs four and a half kilograms tests quickly confirm they belong to concorde
25:34it's a significant lead why because concorde's tires inflate to extremely high pressures which make them more
25:41likely to burst than other aircraft especially during takeoff and landing
25:47pilot john hutchinson explains and in fact when the captain pulls back to rotate
25:54he's actually compressing the undercarriage into the runway so there's even more stress on the tires and the wheels
26:00at that particular point
26:05this additional pressure makes concorde's tires even more vulnerable now they're onto something
26:12the french accident investigators go back through the records and discover that for concorde tire blowouts
26:18are far from rare
26:23they identify over 50 cases of tire burst on takeoff and landing over 24 years
26:39one of the worst incidents involved another air france concorde this time at washington's dallas airport in 1979
26:48bill lightfoot was a passenger on concorde that day
26:53i could see a a big ragged hole in the wing with like pieces of aluminum or a metallic alloy
27:01and a lot of liquid pouring out of that of the hole that had been ripped in the wing
27:07the official report into this accident found that the tire burst during taxiing
27:12then the exposed metal wheel got very hot and exploded just before takeoff
27:23the plane took off but 20 minutes later returned safely to the ground
27:28the plane survived this scare but it caused a major overhaul of tire safety
27:34concorde engineers installed sensors to detect under inflated tires
27:37modified inspection procedures for wheels before every flight and most importantly as aviation expert
27:44david liamott explains develop stronger tires that can carry twice their normal load
27:51the requirement was that in test flights you should be able to have a complete tire blowout
27:58during the takeoff run and that you should be able to complete the takeoff with no tires left
28:08and that is what the wheels subsequently were and never again did a wheel fail
28:18that is until 18 years later in paris when something goes very wrong
28:25despite all the safety measures one of concorde's tires explodes in fragments
28:34investigators dig deeper they re-examine all the debris found on the runway and then make the most
28:41most important discovery of the investigation this 43 centimeter mystery strip of metal
28:52when you match the 43 centimeter strip of metal to the damage on concord's tire it's a perfect fit
29:03suddenly the whole inquiry now depends on the source of this metal
29:10where did it come from
29:16it takes five weeks of painstaking detective work comparing it to the thousands of parts that make up aircraft
29:26then a breakthrough
29:29they discover the metal strip comes from the engine mounting of a dc-10
29:37the flight lock from paris reveals a continental airlines dc-10 took off five minutes before concord
29:46they track down the plane to houston texas and incredibly find the engine has a missing part
29:52it's the metal strip fitted 16 days earlier during maintenance on the dc-10
30:00when david learmount first sees the photographs of the strip of metal he's astonished
30:07it had really rough edges and this was not just rough edges because concord had run over it
30:12it had been cut roughly the edges were not straight not even when it was made
30:19the other thing is that it had holes drilled in it for putting screws or rivets through and these were
30:26all over the place
30:30investigators now have a very strong theory about how the strip of metal contributed to the crash
30:3981 seconds before the crash concord af4590 is traveling at 323 kilometers per hour down the runway
30:47the tire hits the metal strip
30:52the tire explodes and a massive four and a half kilogram chunk of rubber from the tire flies at high
30:59speed up into the wing but concord's fuel tanks are in the wings and the delta shape wing is not
31:07designed
31:07to withstand such an impact this sort of eventuality had never been foreseen in trials it was estimated
31:17in all the trials for certificating the aircraft in the first place that if a tire exploded the pieces of
31:25tire that would actually come away from the wheel would be about one kilogram in weight
31:33the chunk of rubber that hits concord's wing that day weighs nearly five times as much
31:37four and a half kilograms no one had planned for that sort of impact
31:47what's more you can match the large rubber fragment of the tire with a dent on the wing
31:53but surprisingly the wing is not punctured at that point
31:59so if the heavy chunk of rubber hadn't punctured the wing what made the fuel leak out
32:06the piece of tar which actually hit the wing and did the damage was so big and so flat that
32:12although
32:12it was so heavy it didn't go through the wings at all
32:19and it caused such a shock wave to go through the fuel
32:23that it actually blew a plug of wing tank skin outwards the shock was that bad
32:36when the rubber chunk hits the wing it sets off a pressure wave which finds the weakest joint in the
32:41fuel
32:41tank the fuel bursts out of the tank 75 liters of fuel pour into the engine every second
32:50but even fuel gushing over the engine needs a spark to ignite
32:56where did the spark come from
33:05air france concord af4590 crashes after takeoff from paris charles de gaulle airport
33:19our graphics can simulate a virtual camera on the runway to reveal the cause of the accident
33:26as the plane hurtles down the runway a rogue strip of metal bursts a tire
33:3381 seconds before the crash a heavy chunk of rubber flies into the fuel tanks
33:42fuel cascades over the engines not enough on its own to cause a catastrophe it needs a spark
33:56from the cockpit voice recorder we know that the pilots have trouble with the landing gear on takeoff
34:07as concord struggles into the air pilot christian marty calls for the undercarriage to be raised
34:14but it stays locked open
34:22the only video footage ever taken of the doomed flight provides further evidence
34:28it shows the undercarriage in the down position
34:33what stopped the wheels from retracting
34:36the most likely explanation can be seen in this computer simulation
34:47shrapnel from the burst tire flies up into the landing gear bay where it severs power cables
34:54the undercarriage is now stuck in the down position
34:58worse still the exposed wires are whipping around in the gale force airflow
35:05if the exposed wires make contact they'll spark as fate would have it they do that contact ignites
35:14the leaking fuel and at that moment concord becomes a flying bomb
35:31we can now tell you what it must have been like the captain marty in the cockpit
35:38from the pilot seat he can't see the flames
35:42all he knows is that concord is losing power in engine number two just at the moment of takeoff
35:49one second later the control tower alerts him to the fire
35:54the front 4590 you have flames behind you
35:59computer graphics show how concord would have looked
36:03now to make matters even worse for captain marty the number one engine is losing power as well
36:07events are conspiring against him
36:10aviation safety expert david learmount explains why
36:15there was a fantastic gush of fuel out of this quite large hole was literally drowning out that
36:22engine which gradually lost power and finally went out so the pilots were left with two engines
36:30when they're normally accustomed to having four
36:35it couldn't happen at a worse time captain marty needs maximum power and there's not enough runway left
36:41to stop he wrestles concord into the air
36:47cockpit voice recordings reveal that at 443 and 22 seconds the engine fire alarm sounds
36:54and three seconds later the captain shuts down engine number two
37:05the drill for a fire warning is that you shut the engine down and cut off the supply of fuel
37:10to it
37:11to try and then fire the fire extinguisher that engine to try and put the fire out
37:19concord is now 53 seconds from disaster
37:23jules rogelin in the control tower gives what help he can to captain marty
37:28do as you wish your priority to return to the field
37:35but at 60 meters concord is too low to turn around
37:38so instead captain marty tries to fly the crippled plane to the nearest runway
37:43at le bourget airport just five kilometers ahead
37:49but there's a new problem for captain marty the fire is now so intense
37:53the concord's wing is melting and disintegrating the rear end of the of the wing on concord are the
38:02controls known as elevons which enable the pilot to point the aircraft's nose up or down the fire was so
38:11fierce that the rear structure of the aircraft was being virtually evaporated the pilot's essential
38:20controls were being destroyed at the same time the toilet smoke alarms are heard on the voice recorders
38:28for the passengers fumes in the cabin make conditions unbearable
38:34concord is now 49 seconds from disaster
38:44in the cockpit christian marty battles with the controls trying to gain speed and height
38:50but he's being overwhelmed by the fact that the wing and its controls are disintegrating
38:55so
39:0033 seconds
39:02the engine fire alarm sounds again and remains on for the duration of the flight
39:08captain marty runs out of options
39:11even the runway at le bourget now only three kilometers away is out of reach
39:18with just 11 seconds left the control tower hears christian marty's final words
39:25too late no time
39:33four seconds left the plane dips below 15 meters
39:38the final sort of act was the airplane reared up and healed over into about 110 degrees of bank
39:46so the airplane at that point became completely uncontrollable
39:52three seconds concord could no longer hang in the air
39:59it stalls and begins to roll leftwards a hotel lies directly beneath the plane is about to come down
40:15just 118 seconds after concord begins accelerating down the runway 109 people are staring death in the face
40:28of the plane
40:32two seconds later concord crashes into an airport hotel
40:49all 100 passengers and nine crew on board are killed as well as four people in the hotel
40:58the air traffic controller gilogelin started concord on its fateful flight and he is a witness to
41:04those terrifying final seconds i knew that everything was finished i knew that that it was the confirmation
41:15of a reality that i didn't accept in fact and uh because until this moment i i still i think
41:23i still
41:24i had the belief that uh it was not true that it was not the reality so it gave me
41:31the the point i
41:33think it gave me the the reality that it was over that this that's what could not happen has happened
41:40that it was a real crash concord the world's only successful supersonic airliner has its perfect 25
41:49year safety record destroyed in just 120 seconds it's a crash of unimaginable horror
42:00the passengers had only a few seconds to prepare for death
42:05lawyer christoph wellens speaks for the victims
42:11i think the passengers realized early on that something was wrong with the aircraft
42:17the plane didn't climb then a wing caught fire it flew at low altitude just above the ground
42:24then the plane started turning over i think the passengers knew very early on that something
42:30terrible was about to happen and that they must have been preparing to die
42:39two days later relatives are allowed to lay flowers at the crash site
42:50even today they feel a deep sense of loss
42:57jorg meyer's father died in the crash i certainly miss him he leaves a gap for me that cannot be
43:04filled
43:05what makes it more terrible is the fact that he didn't die from a natural illness but in a horrific
43:11accident
43:19the disaster was also traumatic for those who survived from the town of gun s
43:26businessman patrick tess had a miraculous escape he works directly next door to the hotel destroyed by concord
43:34to this day he's haunted by the events
43:45of course the crash had an effect on me you can't remain unaffected by it
43:55to see what i saw the bodies the fire the injuries it's awful the smell of burning flesh is just
44:04terrible
44:15for concord the paris disaster is the beginning of the end
44:20three weeks after the crash all concord flights are grounded
44:26air france and british airways the two airlines that fly concord have to make major safety modifications
44:34tires are strengthened so that they remain functional even when punctured by a 30 centimeter blade
44:44so
44:45engineers encase the fuel tanks with bulletproof kevlar liners to resist puncture
44:51and electrical harnesses in the main landing gear bays are reinforced
45:04but concord was never to regain her former glory
45:0914 months after the crash concord passenger flights resume but the cost of maintaining and upgrading the
45:16aging fleet is too great
45:19passenger numbers decline sharply
45:21on the 24th of october 2003 concord carries passengers for the last time
45:29the first era of supersonic passenger travel is at an end concord is now just a museum relic
45:40that fateful july afternoon in paris is due to a critical chain of events
45:50a rogue strip of metal on the runway punctures a tire
45:55propelling part of the wheel into the wing a pressure wave causes fuel to erupt from the tank
46:02and debris to fly into the undercarriage where it severs an electrical wire
46:09the spark ignites
46:14triggering an inferno at the point of takeoff a crucial time
46:22from then on concord is doomed
46:31a chain of events no one could have predicted that ultimately brings about its destruction
46:37the
46:39is
46:39the
46:39is
46:39is
46:39is
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