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Concorde Tragedy: A Tire, a Strip, and Catastrophe
25 Jul
Summary
- A small titanium strip caused a Concorde tire to burst on takeoff.
- The plane exceeded the V1 speed, making aborting the takeoff impossible.
- The disaster led to the grounding and eventual retirement of Concorde.
On July 25, a Concorde, flight AF4590, experienced a catastrophic tire blowout shortly after beginning its takeoff roll. A small titanium strip left on the runway by a preceding aircraft was identified as the cause. The burst tire sent debris that severed other critical components of the aircraft.
The Concorde was unable to abort its takeoff as it had already passed the V1 speed marker of 173mph, with its recorded speed at 185mph. This critical threshold meant the crew could not safely bring the supersonic jet to a halt.
The aircraft stalled and subsequently crashed into the Hotellissimo Les Relais Bleus hotel in Gonesse. The tragic incident claimed the lives of all 109 passengers and crew, as well as four hotel employees.
In the aftermath, Air France grounded its Concorde fleet, followed by British Airways weeks later. Although the aircraft briefly returned to service in 2001, Concorde was permanently retired in late 2003.
