Chilling final moments in cockpit as Concorde crashed 77 seconds into flight and killed all passengers
The chilling final words of a Concorde pilot more than twenty years ago have been released and they truly are saddening.
After the pilot’s plane tragically caught fire and crashed only 77 seconds into the flight, it left 113 passengers killed.
This startling new discovery comes after a transcript from within the cockpit was revealed and it shows exactly what happened during the accident.
It all started in 2000, when the now infamous plane began its journey from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport to New York.
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Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after take-off that they jet caught fire and crashed into a hotel in the small town of Gonesse.
A photo of the Air France flight 4590 Concorde plane has become widely known and presents a tragic picture for which will always be remembered in the small town in France.
The scene - from the plane caught on fire to the wreckage - were disturbing realisations of what had happened. The worst part is that there was so much destruction in such little time.
Now, the true magnitude of what happened that day has been revealed as Captain Christian Marty's last words have been found.
On July 25th 2000, soon after take-off, the Paris control tower can be heard talking to the crew on board: "Concorde zero... 4590, you have flames. You have flames behind you."
To which the Concorde's chief navigator said: "Breakdown eng... Breakdown engine two.
"Cut engine two."
This is when the aircraft reportedly tried to gain speed in order to perform an emergency landing, and that is when the captain was heard saying his chilling final words.
He said: "Too late... no time."
The co-pilot can then be heard saying: "Le Bourget, Le Bourget.
"Negative, we are trying Le Bourget [airport to land]."
At this point in the journey, the plane was unable to accelerate or gain the altitude needed in order to reach Le Bourget airport on time.
Exactly 16 seconds later, the recording cuts off and this is when it is believed to have been the impact of the crash.
Tragically, the crash landing didn’t only prove to be fatal for those on board. It also killed four individuals on the ground which brought the total number of victims to 133.
This included 100 passengers and 9 crew members.
The aftermath of the crash forced the airline to ground all remaining Concorde planes immediately following confirmation of the incident, which led British Airways to do the same.
During the investigation process, French investigators were able to determine the cause of the awful event.
It was a burst tyre which set the downfall into motion.
The investigators went on to say: "The accident shows that the destruction of a tyre, an event that we cannot say will not recur, had catastrophic consequences in a short period of time, preventing the crew from rectifying the situation.
"The crew had no way of knowing about the nature of the fire nor any means of fighting it."
But how did the tyre burst?
Apparently, this may be due to a small strip of metal which is believed to have come from another aeroplane which was lying on the runway.
According to the report, this small 40cm strip of metal is believed to have slashed the Concorde's tyre which sent big pieces of rubber into the plane's fuel tanks.
The report detailed that: "Shortly before rotation, the front right tyre of the left undercarriage became damaged and tyre fragments were projected against the fuselage.
"At least one fuel tank was ruptured in one or more places, resulting in a substantial fuel leak.
"The leaking fuel caught light and a very violent fire ensued throughout the duration of the flight. Engine problems occurred in engine number 2 and, briefly, in engine number 1.
"The aircraft flew for approximately one minute."
Topics: News
Britt Jones