France joins Britain in revoking Concorde airworthiness certificate

LONDON (CNN) -- French aviation officials have joined their British counterparts in confirming the suspension of Concorde's airworthiness certificate until the plane's safety can be guaranteed.

The French accident agency Bureau Enquetes Accidents said the recommendation was made following preliminary investigations into the crash of an Air France Concorde just outside Paris on July 25 that killed 113 people.

The BEA said it and its British counterpart, the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau, believed the suspension should remain in place until concerns over tyre blowouts are addressed.

ALSO Supersonic travel: Down, but not out BA confident in Concorde's future     GRAPHIC Anatomy of a Concorde engine Anatomy of a crash

Earlier, Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said a tyre burst was the main cause of the disaster.

The number two tyre on the plane's left side wing is believed to have blown out after running over a piece of metal on the runway at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

Pieces of tyre, some weighing as much as 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds), ruptured the fuel cells of the aircraft, leading to a fire around its left side engines and the catastrophic failure of the plane as it took off at 400 km/h (250 mph).

The operations of all five Air France Concordes were halted after the accident, and British Airways, the only other airline to fly the sleek jets, grounded its fleet of seven on Tuesday ahead of the BEA and CAA announcements.

The CAA said it was asking Concorde's manufacturers, BAe Systems, to recommend an action plan to ensure the aircraft's safety, but could not say how long it would be before this would happen and whether the plane could fly again.

British Airways' Chief Executive Rod Eddington earlier said that safety was the company's first concern. "All our aircraft are subject to continuing and exhaustive safety checks," he said.

The French Transport Ministry has called for Britain and France to work on new safety measures for Concorde.

"Concorde is the only supersonic airliner in the world and there are only a small number in service. As a result, despite its long life, its track record is less developed than that of any other aircraft in civilian fleets," it said in a statement.

French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot said he would speak to his British counterpart to propose that their aviation authorities work together on "common measures" for the aircraft.

All 109 people on board and four people on the ground were killed when the flight carrying German tourists to New York crashed in the village of Gonesse. It was the first fatal accident involving Concorde in its 25 years of commercial flying.

British Airways Concorde flights suspended
August 15, 2000
French Concorde suspension to continue
August 11, 2000
Piece of metal 'could have downed' Concorde
August 10, 2000
Final farewell for Concorde crash pilot
August 8, 2000
Air France confirms it did not make Concorde modification before crash
August 3, 2000
Report on cause of Concorde crash could take more than 18 months
July 31, 2000
British Concordes suffered dozen tire blowouts, engine problems
July 29, 2000

Bureau Enquetes Accidents (in English)
British Civil Aviation Authority
Air Accidents Investigation Branch UK
British Airways
Air France

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.