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Today in history: July 25th 2000, Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 113 people
otdinhistory_ Today in history: July 25th 2000, Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 113 people. The fuel tank inside the left wing was full, and the resulting lack of air space in the tank caused it to rupture and send fuel pouring outward with great force when debris from the tyre struck the wing thus creating a shock wave that weakened the tank. Debris flew into the landing gear bay and severed power wiring, making it impossible to retract the gear as the aircraft climbed. Sparks produced by the broken wiring ignited fuel from the ruptured fuel tank. The fire reduced thrust in engines 1 and 2. Lack of thrust, the high drag caused by the inability to retract the gear, and fire damage to the flight controls made the aircraft impossible to control. It crashed into a hotel in nearby Gonesse two minutes after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four people in the hotel, and critically injuring seven people in the hotel. The flight w...