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Britain, France Clear Concorde for Takeoff
British and French officials cleared the luxury Concorde for takeoff, laying out a series of safety modifications Wednesday that will enable the world's only commercial supersonic jet to return to service a year after a deadly crash killed 113 people.
The Civil Aviation Authority in London issued a "mandatory airworthiness directive," detailing the modifications that British Airways must take before returning any of its Concordes to service. French authorities issued a similar document to Air France, the British agency said.
"Once the changes are completed on each individual aircraft the regulatory authorities can return its Certificate of Airworthiness. Commercial operations can then resume at the discretion of the airlines," the Civil Aviation Authority said.
Key modifications to the aircraft include stronger tires, fuel tank linings made of bulletproof Kevlar, and extra protection for critical electrical and hydraulic systems on the underside of the wings.
British Airways, which last year announced a $20 million remodeling of cabin interiors and Concorde lounges in New York and London, planned a series of five test flights with employees filling the seats in the fabled aircraft.
Employees were invited to enter a drawing to get one of the 100 seats in the plane to help test all aspects of operations, including ticketing, boarding and in-flight services.
Four flights will turn around over the mid-Atlantic and one will go all the way to New York, British Airways said.
The Concorde flies faster than any other commercial aircraft, racing between Europe and New York in under four hours. Its fastest New York-London crossing was completed in just 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
The Concorde cruises at 1,350 mph, or twice the speed of sound, at an altitude of 60,000 feet.
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