Concorde making first test flight since crash
Tuesday, 17 July 2001 17:52
A British Airways Concorde is making its first test flight since the fleet was grounded. It was grounded following an Air France crash last summer in which 113 people died. The aircraft took off from Heathrow this afternoon for a simulated transatlantic crossing.
It is now over the Atlantic undergoing tests south of Iceland and is due to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire just before six o'clock this evening. The plane tyres have been modified and Kevlar, used in the manufacture of bullet proof flak jackets, is lining the fuel tanks to prevent puncturing from objects on the runway, which was the cause of the Paris disaster.
If the test is successful it is hoped to resume commercial Concorde flights by the autumn. The aircraft is due to reach a speed of about twice the speed of sound.
