UK: British Airways Concorde flights suspended

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_881000/881528.stm

British Airways has announced it is suspending all its Concorde flights with immediate effect.

The move follows advice from air regulation authorities, the company said.

BA was warned that the aircraft's airworthiness certification was to be revoked by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), which regulate air travel in the UK.

The decision follows the fatal crash of a French Concorde last month which killed 113 passengers.

Air France supersonic flights have been grounded since the crash on 25 July .

But BA took the decision to postpone its supersonic flights for only one day following the crash in the French town of Gonesse.

The French Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA) had thought that a metal strip found on the runway at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport had slashed a tyre causing the jet to crash.

But the latest decision suggests that Concorde planes have a fault which could have caused the fatal crash.

It means Concorde no longer meets the safety criteria laid down by the CAA.

A morning flight on Tuesday from London to New York was cancelled along with a later return flight from New York.

There is no current timetable for the resumption of Concorde services.

-- Jim McAteer (jim_mcateer@hotmail.com), August 15, 2000

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