Asbestos alert from Concorde crash

The crash killed all 109 passengers and crew, along with four people on the ground

PARIS, France -- Air accident investigators who worked on the Air France Concorde wreckage could face a lifetime of medical tests after it was revealed they were potentially exposed to asbestos.

Staff at the Bureau Enquetes Accidents (BEA) sifted through the few remaining parts of the plane which crashed in July 2000 not knowing that asbestos had been used in its structure.

Paul-Louis Arslanian, BEA General Manager, told CNN: "My people, and many others, worked for a few days without knowing there was asbestos in the wreckage and this is something I prefer not to be faced with again."

Asbestos had been packed around the engines and had survived the inferno which enveloped the plane after a fuel tank became ruptured by tyre debris.

Despite "immediate measures" having been taken it is not clear how much his staff were exposed to the material, which causes the lung disease asbestosis, and what kind of risks they face.

RESOURCES In-depth: Concorde  A supersonic return   RESOURCES BEA site: The report in full  (in French)   EXTRA INFORMATION CNN ACCESS: Accident 'impossible to predict'

They could be under medical supervision "until they retire," he warned.

"We were informed eventually that there was an asbestos risk because there was some asbestos in the wreckage. I do not know (the extent of) risk," Arslanian said.

The supersonic jet crashed just minutes after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris on July 25, 2000, killing all 109 passengers and crew on board, as well four people on the ground.

Arslanian was speaking as the official final report into the crash was published on Wednesday, which confirmed a long-held theory that a piece of debris on the runway sparked a chain of events that caused the tragedy.

The 400-page BEA report also criticises Air France for deficiencies in maintenance, but says those faults did not cause the crash.

Air France said in a statement that those faults had been corrected.

The report says a tire burst after hitting a stray metal strip on the runway

"Although they didn't contribute to the accident, the faults pointed out in the BEA report have been the object of detailed analysis and appropriate corrective measures," the statement says.

The report says the aircraft was doomed, even if its pilots had been able to abort takeoff.

It says an aborted takeoff would have led to a collapse of the landing gear and to the aircraft "blazing up."

The report recommends the installation of flight recorders that log every second, rather than every other second, and video systems in cockpits.

Investigators believe the metal strip that burst Concorde's tyres came from a Continental Airlines DC-10 that took off a short time earlier.

The report recommends that the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency audits maintenance procedures at Continental Airlines.

The Houston-based airline has said in the past that it does not believe one of its aircraft was responsible for the accident, but that it could not comment until the investigation was complete.

The explosion sent rubber debris hurtling toward fuel tanks and prompted a fuel leak and fire that brought the plane down.

The aircraft flew for around a minute at a speed of around 120mph and at an altitude of about 200ft, but was unable to gain height or speed before crashing into a small hotel in the town of Gonesse.

The report said that the performance of the aircraft before it ran over the metallic strip was quite normal.

Concordes have since been fitted with fuel-tank liners of bulletproof Kevlar, a reinforced undercarriage and stronger tires.

The crash led to the grounding of all five remaining Air France Concordes and the seven aircraft in the British Airways fleet.

After modifications to fuel tanks, tyres and wiring, and after a number of test flights, BA and Air France were able to resume Concorde passenger services in November 2001.

The aircraft's new tires, designed by French firm Michelin, passed rigorous tests, including one that revved the wheel faster than 250 mph -- the Concorde's speed at takeoff -- and stabbed it with a titanium blade.

A legal investigation aimed at determining responsibility for the crash is still under way.