July 17, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Concorde makes test flight

LONDON, July 17, Graphic News: A British AirwaysÕ Concorde will take to the air Tuesday, making the first test flight since the fleet was grounded following a crash in Paris last July which killed 113 people. 

The supersonic aircraft will take off from Heathrow airport, London, piloted by BAÕs Concorde chief pilot Captain Mike Bannister. 

Accompanied by flight crew and engineers, Capt Bannister will fly Concorde over the Atlantic for approximately three hours and 20 minutes, testing new safety systems and fuel consumption, before returning to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. During the flight it is expected to reach its top speed of 1,350mph -- around twice the speed of sound. 

The entire Concorde fleet was grounded after the Air France tragedy near Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris on July 25 last year. The crash happened after a metal object left on the runway burst a tyre on the supersonic aircraft. This led to a rupturing of the fuel tank which in turn triggered a catastrophic fire and the crash of the plane, killing all 109 passengers and crew, and four people on the ground. 

Engineers on board todayÕs flight will carry out a number of tests following £17 million (US$23.8 million) of modifications to ConcordeÕs fuel tanks and undercarriage. 

The supersonic plane has been fitted with new Kevlar-rubber fuel tank liners to prevent a repeat of last yearÕs crash. The liner is made of a compound successfully used in military helicopters and Formula One cars. 

The result of the test flight will be submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority and its French equivalent, with the aim of winning back certificates of air-worthiness suspended in the wake of the Paris crash. 

BA hopes to resume ConcordeÕs passenger service in September. 
/ENDS
Sources: British Airways, Reuters