Concorde To Fly Again?
French and British aviation authorities said the manufacturers of the Concorde on Monday presented them with a proposal to revamp the supersonic jet's possible weak points and return the grounded plane to the skies.
The manufacturers have offered to embark on in-depth work of the aircraft's tanks, engines and hydraulic system, according to a statement issued by a British and French working group that is overseeing the inquiry into the July crash that killed 113 people.
Nearly four months after the accident, all Air France and British Airways Concordes remain grounded while investigators seek to pinpoint the cause of the accident. After a third meeting of the working group on Monday, authorities still did not venture to say when the jet might return to duty.
"The manufacturers have proposed more in-depth points of work, which could be modified depending on new elements discovered in the technical investigation, and which concern the following areas: damage caused to the tanks, the origin of the fire, engine failure and the function of the hydraulic system," according to a statement from the French Accident and Inquiry Office.
The statement said authorities would need more time to decide whether to implement the proposal, which would be put in place with help from the Concorde's two carriers.
On July 25, an Air France Concorde plunged into a small hotel in an industrial suburb of Paris less than two minutes after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. Most of the victims were German tourists headed for a cruise.
Investigators have said they believe that a stray metal strip lying on the runway gashed one of the jet's tires, sending rubber debris hurtling toward fuel tanks in the jet's left wing, prompting a fuel leak and a raging fire.
Despite that hypothesis, "questions remain about the origin of the fire and the damage undergone by the hydraulic system," French civil aviation authorities said, though they cited progress in the inquiry.
Since the accident, French and British investigators have gathered every day in a hangar close to where the Concorde crashed to study the debris of the smashed airplane and piece together the shattered left wing, which they hope will offer a final explanation for the crash.
Investigators will need at least another six months to finish their reconstruction of the airliner, a senior officer said last week.
"Imagine if you have a jigsaw puzzle that someone set fire to and then threw out of a building from the fifth floor. It is terribly difficult trying to put it together again, but that is what we have to do," said Lieutenant Stephane Chery.
British Airways has said it is confident the plane will fly again in the "not-too-distant future," but has not set a date.
The next meeting of the Concorde working group has been scheduled for Dec. 15 in London.
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