07/11/2024 Concorde -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Concorde
Concorde supersonic passenger transport, which first flew in 1969 and entered commercial service in
1976. British Aircraft Corporation and Aérospatiale of France built the airframe, which was powered by
four Rolls-Royce/SNECMA engines.
Concorde, the first supersonic passenger-carrying commercial airplane (or supersonic transport, SST),
built jointly by aircraft manufacturers in Great Britain and France. The Concorde made its first
transatlantic crossing on September 26, 1973, and it inaugurated the world’s first scheduled supersonic
passenger service on January 21, 1976—British Airways initially flying the aircraft from London to
Bahrain and Air France flying it from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. Both airlines added regular service to
Washington, D.C., in May 1976 and to New York City in November 1977. Other routes were added
temporarily or seasonally, and the Concorde was flown on chartered flights to destinations all over the
world. However, the aircraft’s noise and operating expense limited its service. Financial losses led both
airlines to cut routes, eventually leaving New York City as their only regular destination. Concorde
operations were finally ceased by Air France in May 2003 and by British Airways in October 2003. Only
14 of the aircraft actually went into service.
The Concorde was the first major cooperative venture of
European countries to design and build an aircraft. On
November 29, 1962, Britain and France signed a treaty to
share costs and risks in producing an SST. British Aerospace
and the French firm Aérospatiale were responsible for the
airframe, while Britain’s Rolls-Royce and France’s SNECMA
Concorde (Société Nationale d’Étude et de Construction de Moteurs
d’Aviation) developed the jet engines. The result was a
A British Airways Concorde.
technological masterpiece, the delta-wing Concorde, which
made its first flight on March 2, 1969. The Concorde had a maximum cruising speed of 2,179 km (1,354
miles) per hour, or Mach 2.04 (more than twice the speed of sound), allowing the aircraft to reduce the
flight time between London and New York to about three hours. The development costs of the Concorde
were so great that they could never be recovered from operations, and the aircraft was never financially
profitable. Nevertheless, it proved that European governments and manufacturers could cooperate in
complex ventures, and it helped to ensure that Europe would remain at the technical forefront of
aerospace development.
On July 25, 2000, a Concorde en route from Paris to New
York City suffered engine failure shortly after takeoff when
debris from a burst tire caused a fuel tank to rupture and burst
into flames. The aircraft crashed into a small hotel and
restaurant. All 109 persons on board, including 100
passengers and 9 crew members, died; 4 people on the ground
Air France flight 4590 were also killed.
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07/11/2024 Concorde -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Air France flight 4590 taking off with This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy
fire trailing from its engine, Paris, July Tikkanen.
25, 2000. The plane crashed shortly
after takeoff, killing all 109 people
aboard and four others on the
ground.
Citation Information
Article Title: Concorde
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 20 August 2024
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Access Date: November 07, 2024
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