Metal strip brought down Concorde - prosecutors

A titanium strip that fell off a Continental Airlines jumbo jet onto a Paris runway was the main cause of the crash of a Air France Concorde four years ago, judicial experts reported today.

The report echoed similar conclusions by accident investigators three years ago, who found that a poorly installed “wear strip” from the US airline’s DC-10 was to blame.

The report also cited weaknesses in “the training and preparation of the Concorde teams,” prosecutors in the suburb of Cergy-Pointoise said.

The July 25, 2000 crash happened when the Concorde exploded in flames and slammed into a hotel after taking off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground.

An investigation nearly three years ago by France’s Accident Investigations Bureau had cited the cause of the crash as the “wear strip” that fell off the Continental jet’s engine housing during take-off onto the same runway that the Concorde used minutes later.

“The technical expertise have shown a direct causal link between the rupture of the Number 2 wheel’s tire on the left side when it passed over the metal strip made of titanium alloy,” the statement said.