Saturday, May 31, 2003
Saturday, May 31, 2003 |
| International | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | International
The white needle-nosed supersonic plane took off with a roar from Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, at 10.38 a.m. local time. On Saturday, in its last ever commercial flight for Air France, Concorde will speed back to Paris from New York and then go into retirement. ``It's very emotional. Concorde is a story of joy, of emotion, of technical prowess,'' said an Air France staffer, before the flight departed with 58 passengers, three pilots and eight cabin crew. Chief pilot, Jean-Francois Michel, was at the controls. Air France and British Airways, the only carriers to operate the aircraft, are both retiring their Concorde fleets. The last British Airways flights are scheduled for October. The Concorde's demise follows the July 25, 2000, accident over Gonesse, France, just after take off that killed 113 people, including four on the ground. The aircraft was taken out of service until November 2001, and refurbished based on findings by investigators. The probe determined that a stray piece of metal on the runway punctured a tyre. Rubber chunks then punctured the fuel tank, triggering a fire. The Concorde was fixed with sturdier tyres and a fuel-tank liner, but things were never the same. Flying fears after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, took a toll on airlines around the world, making it harder to keep the fancy flying machine, with its costly maintenance, in service. Concorde's demise ends an era of Champagne at twice the speed of sound. The rich pampered themselves with supersonic trans-Atlantic travel. Concorde also served on-the-go diplomats like the French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, and executives making deals on both sides of the Atlantic. Another category of supersonic clients certain to feel wistful are neither rich nor high-powered, just faithful lovers of the Concorde, including the aircraft's specially trained crews. The luxury aircraft began regular service in 1976. With a cruising speed of 2,172 km per hour, it crosses the Atlantic in about three hours; because of the time change, westbound passengers arrive an hour before they left. — AP
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
