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On the right, Albert Ormerod, the Principal Scientific Officer at the
Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in Bedford, UK, showing wing
designs for the Concorde supersonic airliner during an Open Day at
the site, May 1964. ©Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

12m

7,7m

27,6m

3,3m

2,8m
25,6m

61,6m

The first official flights began six years crew of pilot, co–pilot and flight engineer, aircraft to rapid decline. On this date,
later, in 1976, with the London–Bahrain and who had to deal with the operation of the during the direct flight from Paris to New
Paris–Rio de Janeiro routes, but the London– four Rolls–Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 York, 133 seconds after take–off and only
New York and Paris–New York routes were engines, which were overstressed by the 9.5 km from Charles De Gaulle airport, the
also made available later. supersonic speed. The service, however, Concorde F–BTSC crashed into a hotel. All
The initial budget for its construction was of the highest standard, and passengers 100 passengers, nine crew members (three
was around 6 million pounds (back in the were spoiled with caviar and champagne. pilots and six flight attendants) and four
1960s), but soon the prediction was updated Fuel consumption was also very high: people in the hotel died, while six other
into the record figure of 23 million pounds. 17 litres per passenger per 100 km, while people on the ground were injured.
This exorbitant cost caused orders to be today – for comparison – the A380, the This accident was the beginning of
scaled back, leading to the cancellation of 480 largest passenger aircraft at the moment, the end of Concorde, although it was not
planned aircrafts in favour of only 20 aircrafts. consumes three litres of fuel per 100 km the only cause of its exit from the scene:
It was not a plane for everyone – flying flight per passenger. also contributing to its demise were the
in Concorde was very expensive – nor was Flying Concorde was a privilege excessively high maintenance costs (for
it particularly comfortable (but for a three– that only businesspeople, show business every hour of flight time, Concorde needed
and–a–half hour flight, it was all in all personalities and prominent politicians 20 hours of maintenance, compared to two
acceptable) due to the cramped dimensions could afford. However, on 25 July 2000, hours for a normal airliner) and excessive
of the cockpit and the deafening noise: something happened that changed its fuel consumption. This lead to Concorde
it could carry a hundred people plus the history forever, leading this sophisticated shutting down its engines – literally – in 2003.

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