Thaindian News

By Ranjan Bhaduri
July 25, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Ten years back the Concorde was regarded as the fastest and one of the safest aircraft for commercial operations. The turbojet-powered supersonic plane which made its debut way back in 1969 was used for intercontinental flight routes. The planes took much less time compared to other aircrafts used in its time. However, things changed drastically on the fateful day of July 25, 2000. The infamous Concorde crash which involved an Air France Concorde jet happened near Charles de Gaulle Airport and it took the lives of 113 people. Owing to a debris hit, the tyre of the plane burst and the fuel tank erupted into flames. The aircraft crashed into Gonesse’s Hotelissimo Hotel. It resulted in a huge blaze and all passengers died. This accident along with hike in maintenance costs and fall in air travel post 26/11 incident led to the demise of the Concorde service.

Recently the town of Gonesse held a memorial service for remembering those ill fated people who lost their lives on the Concorde accident ten years back. The mayor of the town reiterated the need of the government stepping up the measures to safeguard the lives of the people who stay near the airports in France. Jean-Pierre Blazy the mayor of Gonesse regretted that a majority of air accidents still occur at densely populated regions.

The Concorde which was finally withdrawn from service in the year 2003 had set various records in the history of aviation. The fatal accident which was caused by a debris left by another plane on the runway reportedly fell from a Continental Airlines aircraft.