Quote:
Originally Posted by bestwheelbase
A terrible tragedy, but not caused by Concorde. It was a DC-10 which dropped a piece of metal on the tarmac and caused the whole incident.
|
The Concorde was brought down by a small bit of metal on the runway during takeoff. Some foreign object damage is expected during the lifespan of a typical commericial airliner, something that size is not expected to result in the destruction of the plane. British Airways and the manufacturers didn't want the Concorde to end on such an inglorious note, so they paid to engineer a new fuel tank protection system to prevent similar accidents. Even so, large subsidies of the Concorde for prestige puposes became unnecessary with the expansion of the Airbus fleet- and the Concorde was soon retired. The A380 is a far better prestige aircraft for the european manufacturers: not only is its engineering impressive, but it also makes sense to the airline accountants. Meanwhile the ultra rich can flaunt their wealth by flying in ocean crossing private jets on their own schedule, instead of dealing with the TSA for the priviledge of squeezing into the narrow Concorde cabin according to its limited flight times.