Editing Concorde (section)

===Air France Flight 4590===
{{main|Air France Flight 4590}}

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, registration F-BTSC, crashed in [[Gonesse]], France, after departing from [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] en route to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York City, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members on board as well as four people on the ground.<!-- per MOS:NUMERAL, comparable quantities should be all spelled out or all in figures --> It was the only fatal accident involving Concorde. This crash also damaged Concorde's reputation and caused both British Airways and Air France to temporarily ground their fleets.<ref name = "upi sep2001"/> According to the official investigation conducted by the [[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] (BEA), the crash was caused by a metallic strip that had fallen from a [[Continental Airlines]] [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|DC-10]] that had taken off minutes earlier. This fragment punctured a tyre<!-- please leave British spelling of "tyres" on British/French aircraft ---> on Concorde's left main wheel bogie during take-off. The tyre exploded, and a piece of rubber hit the fuel tank, which caused a fuel leak and led to a fire. The crew shut down engine number 2 in response to a fire warning, and with engine number 1 surging and producing little power, the aircraft was unable to gain altitude or speed. The aircraft entered a rapid pitch-up then a sudden descent, rolling left and crashing tail-low into the Hôtelissimo Les Relais Bleus Hotel in Gonesse.{{sfn|Endres|2001|pp=110–13}} <!-- Further details belong at [[Air France Flight 4590]]. -->

Before the accident, Concorde had been arguably the safest operational passenger airliner in the world with zero passenger deaths, but there had been two prior non-fatal accidents and a rate of tyre damage 30 times higher than subsonic airliners from 1995 to 2000.<ref name=AAIB89>{{cite book|url=https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/6-1989-concorde-102-g-boaf-12-april-1989|title=Report No: 6/1989. Report on the accident to Concorde 102, G-BOAF over the Tasman Sea, about 140 nm east of Sydney, Australia on 12 April 1989|year=1989|access-date=25 January 2016|archive-date=1 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201183536/https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/6-1989-concorde-102-g-boaf-12-april-1989|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=AAIB93>{{cite book|url=https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/5-1993-british-aircraft-corporation-snias-concorde-102-g-boab-21-march-1992|title=Report No: 5/1993. Report on the accident to British Aircraft Corporation/SNIAS Concorde 102, G-BOAB, over the North Atlantic, on 21 March 1992|year=1993|access-date=25 January 2016|archive-date=1 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201175323/https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/5-1993-british-aircraft-corporation-snias-concorde-102-g-boab-21-march-1992|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82753359.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105233430/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82753359.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 November 2013 |title=Human Factor Issues Emerge from Concorde Crash Investigation |journal=Air Safety Week |date=11 February 2002 |access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=BEAjan2002>{{cite web |url= https://bea.aero/uploads/tx_elydbrapports/f-sc000725a.pdf |title=Accident on 25 July 2000 at La Patte d'Oie in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France |publisher=[[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety|French Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents (BEA)]] |date= January 2002 |pages=146–147}}</ref> Safety improvements made after the crash included more secure electrical controls, [[Kevlar]] lining on the fuel tanks and specially developed burst-resistant tyres.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1442061.stm |title=Concorde's safety modifications |work=BBC News |date=17 July 2001 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304001950/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1442061.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> The first flight with the modifications departed from London Heathrow on 17 July 2001, piloted by BA Chief Concorde Pilot [[Mike Bannister]]. In a flight of 3 hours 20 minutes over the mid-Atlantic towards Iceland, Bannister attained Mach 2.02 and {{convert|60000|ft|m|abbr=on}} then returned to [[RAF Brize Norton]]. The test flight, intended to resemble the London–New York route, was declared a success and was watched on live TV, and by crowds on the ground at both locations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/concorde-completes-successful-test-flight |title=Concorde Completes Successful Test Flight |publisher=Fox News |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=17 July 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209175121/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29732,00.html |archive-date=9 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first flight with passengers after the 2000 grounding landed shortly before the [[September 11 attacks|World Trade Center attacks]] in the United States. This was not a commercial flight: all the passengers were BA employees.<ref name = "upi sep2001">{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/09/11/Concorde-100-BA-staff-fly-over-Atlantic/7180000071087/|title=Concorde, 100 BA staff fly over Atlantic|work=United Press International|date=11 September 2001|access-date=19 March 2017|archive-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321084056/http://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/09/11/Concorde-100-BA-staff-fly-over-Atlantic/7180000071087/|url-status=live}}</ref> Normal commercial operations resumed on 7 November 2001 by BA and AF (aircraft G-BOAE and F-BTSD), with service to New York JFK, where Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] greeted the passengers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=efkjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3487,4067442 |title=Concorde returns |work=Ocala Star-Banner |date=7 November 2001 |first=Timothy |last=Williams |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095135/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=efkjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3487,4067442 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1641466.stm |title=Concorde 'back where she belongs' |work=BBC News |date=6 November 2001 |access-date=14 January 2010 |archive-date=19 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219002109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1641466.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>