Air France Flight 4590: Concorde downed by debris

On 25^th July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, one of the Concordes, crashed in flames into the Hotelissimo hotel in the town of Gonesse, north of Paris, two minutes after taking-off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport. The aircraft hit a piece of debris that had fallen from a previous aircraft onto the runway . This debris caused one tyre to burst, and debris from the tyre to hit the aircraft and, eventually, rupture a fuel tank. All onboard (109 people) as well as 4 people on the ground died as a consequence of the crash.

Aviation crash video

Part 1 of 5

(Video embedded from YouTube on 22 March 2009 -see National Geographic, 20041) 1

Part 2 of 5

(Video embedded from YouTube on 22 March 2009 -see National Geographic, 20041)

Part 3 of 5

(Video embedded from YouTube on 22 March 2009 -see National Geographic, 20041)

Part 4 of 5

(Video embedded from YouTube on 22 March 2009 -see National Geographic, 20041)

Part 5 of 5

(Video embedded from YouTube on 22 March 2009 -see National Geographic, 20041)

Footnotes

1. The video has been aired as "Air Crash Investigations", although it actually forms part of the series "Seconds from Disaster"

2. Also known as Concorde.

References

1. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (2004). Concorde.² Seconds from disaster (USA), 2004. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 retrieved from YouTube on 21 March 2009.

Want to know more?

Aviation Safety Network - Air France 4590

This site offers tabulated information about the occurrence, as well as photos and a link to the investigation report.

Wikipedia - Air France Flight 4590

This page in Wikipedia offers more detailed information about the occurrence.

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Authors

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