Gonesse, France, Julu 25
An Air France Concorde today crashed 90 seconds after take-off, killing all 103 aboard, plus four on the ground. Air France promptly grounded its Concorde fleet. Trailing a plume of flame nearly as long as the aircraft itself, the doomed Concorde appears to have been making for the nearby Le Bourget airfield prior to crashing onto a hotel. Numerous observers have been astonished by the minimal size of the postcrash debris field that would seem to indicate that the airliner fell to earth almost vertically. Within hours of the disaster, the French Transport inister stated that Air France would suspend all Concorde operations, pending the findings of an inquiry. While British Airways suspended Concorde services for the rest of the day, a spokesman said that they intended to continue running their Concorde services until further notice.
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