The only fatal Concorde accident killed 113 people and ultimately contributed to the permanent retirement of the supersonic airliner.
Key Facts
- Date of crash
- 25 July 2000
- Total killed
- 113 (109 on board, 4 on ground)
- Departure airport
- Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris
- Intended destination
- New York
- Fleet grounded until
- 7 November 2001
- Concorde retirement
- Air France May 2003, British Airways Nov 2003
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport, Flight 4590 ran over debris left on the runway by a preceding aircraft. The debris caused a tyre to explode and disintegrate, sending fragments at high speed into the underside of the wing, rupturing an integral fuel tank and damaging the landing gear so it could not retract.
Fuel leaking from the ruptured tank ignited, causing a loss of thrust in the left-side engines. The aircraft lifted off but could not be controlled due to reduced thrust, high drag from the extended landing gear, and fire damage to flight controls. Two minutes after takeoff, the Concorde crashed into a hotel in Gonesse, killing all 109 people on board and 4 on the ground.
The entire Concorde fleet was grounded following the disaster. After airframe modifications were implemented, the aircraft returned to service in November 2001, but reduced commercial viability — compounded by the aftermath of the September 11 attacks — led Air France to retire Concorde in May 2003 and British Airways to follow in November 2003, ending the type's 27-year operational history.