113 killed in Concorde crash

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, JULY 25. Just days after the grounding of one of British Airways' seven Concorde supersonic jets, one owned by Air France crashed outside Paris today, killing all 109 people on board.

The chartered plane, carrying 100 German tourists, including 97 adults and three children, to New York, crashed into a hotel in a suburb close to the Charles de Gaulle airport. The plane's nine crew members also perished.

The hotel in the suburb of Gonesse, into which the plane crashed, caught fire and four people inside were killed. The plane was filled to capacity with the special fuel used to reach supersonic speed - Mach 2 - after breaking the sound barrier.

Eyewitnesses said one of the plane's engines had caught fire and that it was listing to its left. ``The plane went very low over our offices. It was trying to get higher but couldn't. If flew low over the motorway and crashed on the side of the town of Gonesse,'' Mr. Stephane Prevost, who works for a company near the airport said.

Air France said on Monday that it had detected cracks on four of its fleet of six planes but insisted there was no danger and that none of the planes was being grounded. ``We spotted these micro- cracks four months ago. It is a well-known phenomenon and can happen to any plane, not just a Concorde. In no way does it have any implication on the safety of passengers,'' an Air France spokesperson said on Monday. But British Airways decided to ground one of its planes after cracks on the wings widened to as much as three inches.

This is the first accident of a Concorde since the plane was put into service in 1969. There have, however, been several incidents in recent months where pilots have reported mechanical malfunctions and returned to base.

The French Prime Minister, Mr. Lionel Jospin, and the Transport Minister, Mr. Jean-Claude Gayssot, have rushed to the scene.

PTI, AFP report:

One survivor was found at the scene, but emergency services said it was unclear whether he had been on the plane. Helicopters were ferrying officials and rescuers to the scene.

Eyewitnesses, quoted by Radio France International, said the left engine was on fire before the plane crashed. ``I had a narrow escape as I was travelling close to the hotel. I could see flames engulfing the plane. It was a terrible sight,'' a witness said.

Huge clouds of black smoke could be seen miles around. France's LCI TV quoted eyewitnesses as saying the aircraft was not able to gain sufficient altitude before it crashed.

A senior airport official said, ``The jet took off with an engine on fire. I saw the plane take off, try to circle and fall as it was turning.'' He said the airport had been closed and all flights cancelled.

The Concorde, which crosses the Atlantic at 2,187 kph, has been considered among the world's safest planes. Its only major scare came in 1979 when a bad landing blew out a plane's tires. The incident led to a design modification.

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