The Rise & Fall of the Concorde

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Table of Contents

Concorde
The Lifespan of the Airplane Flight Operations
The Technological Aspects & Exclusive Feats of This Marvel
The Emissions in the Lower Stratosphere & Its Effect on the Environment
What Can Engineers Learn From This Crash? How Can We Reduce Such Accidents?
References

Concorde

Concorde was built in 1969, 2nd March by the British French Aviation Company at a program cost of £1.3 billion; in the same year, Concorde models made the maiden flight (Gao & Do 2015). After several modifications, the aircraft’s fuselage assumed a unique shape depicting a fighter jet, specifically the F15s, with a larger capacity of 350 passengers (Glancey, 2015). Concord had a takeoff speed of 220 knots and a faster cruising speed of 1350 miles per hour (Faugier, 2017). However, due to its adverse effects on the environment and human beings, coupled with the takeoff crash in the year 2000, the aircraft ceased its operation in 2003, 4th October. Despite solving critical problems such as speed, cargo volume, and low numbers of passengers, the Concorde aircraft came to a standstill and eventual grounding to date.

An investigation into the cause of the 2000 Concorde crash was crucial not only to the aviation industry but also to the assurance of the safety of future users of the aircraft. With the rapid development in the field of Aeronautics & Electronics, new enhanced ways of traveling are in discussion all over the world (Faugier, 2017). Therefore, it is inevitable that the topic of the famous supersonic aircraft ‘Concorde’ will be a part of those (Fahey et al., 1995). It is important to focus in detail on the disaster that involved this plane so as to get a clear view of the incident that occurred. This will be purposeful in future engineering’s solutions to such problems.

The Lifespan of the Airplane Flight Operations

Concorde came into the Aviation Industry in 1969 as a supersonic aircraft that would transverse the globe at high altitudes which were considered safe and at slightly above the speed of Mac 2 (Glancey, 2015). The flight operations were managed by the company known as The Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde, which is British-French-based. The aircraft was operated until the year 2003 when a decision was reached to ground them out of severe concerns for the health risk it posed to human beings and the environment during its flight.

The Technological Aspects & Exclusive Feats of This Marvel

After World War II many countries developed an interest to strengthen their aircraft technologies, both in computerized and mechanical aspects. England, France, and Germany were the leading countries in technological advancement in aviation. On the other hand, America had established the Boeing Company to put the countries in Europe under control in aviation technology (Faugier, 2017). Countries such as England and France had been acknowledged for their efforts to become the leading countries in the aviation industry. Its body parts were made of well-researched materials from the military departments of the European countries.

Proponents of its future existence were, however, short-lived due to the concords its involvement in one of the severe crashes in the aviation records. The technological aspects could have been among the chief contributors of the 2000 Concorde crash incident. The sophisticated and computerized cockpit was a daunting task for the pilots to have full control over. The maneuverability of the aircraft is, however, entirely dependent on this multi-button control system (Gao & Do, 2015). The extra training was to include simulated movements of the plane before the actual flight was carried. Maintaining the aircraft and the cost of training of the pilot could have been expensive and different from the standard models like Boeings and the military carriers.

The Emissions in the Lower Stratosphere & Its Effect on the Environment

The aircraft heavily polluted the environment, the sound produced by the turbojet engines made shock waves and high energy which affected the human hearing ability. Moreover, the estimates of Nitrogen oxides (NO3), Hydroxides (OH), & Carbon Dioxide (CO2) were generally harmful to the environment (Faugier, 2017). Too much Carbon Dioxide (CO2) depletes the ozone layer, which, in turn, leads to global warming, which has far-reaching effects on the biosystem. Additionally, emission of the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gases leads to acidic rains which corrodes metallic surfaces structures (Glancey, 2015). After the conclusion of the crash report by the French, Accident Investigation Bureau, the following were established as the cause of the crash (Gao & Do 2015). At takeoff, one of the tires blew up, a piece of metal previously dropped by a Continental Airlines DC-10 that had taken off from the runway five minutes earlier was the first causative agent to the crash.

The strip of metal fell off from the DC 10 and was not seen by the airport traffic control by the time the Concorde was cleared for a takeoff. Since the aircraft hit the metal plate at full take-off speed, the possibility of reducing the speed of the craft was not possible. Application of the breaks would have led to collapsing of the leading undercarriage gears. With friction due to contact of the left side wing on the runway, sparks and flames were unavoidable. Taking into account that the fuel tanks were still full at the beginning of the journey to J F International airport, just a small ignition of the fuel tanks could have caused the fire that mounded the debris of the Concorde.

Additionally, the aircraft was overloaded with up to 810 kg, which destabilized the plane during takeoff. Moreover, a short-circuit causes ignition of the leaking fuel by an electric arc in the wiring. The short circuit was caused by the wobbling in the undercarriage gear, which, in turn, led to the veering off the plane as seen in the marks left on the runway (Faugier, 2017). Though the wobbling leading landing gear and unbalanced fuel tanks were treated as trivial by the investigation authorities, they made it difficult for the pilots to salvage the plane after hitting the metal strip.

What Can Engineers Learn From This Crash? How Can We Reduce Such Accidents?

First, there should be checkups of the physical condition of the aircraft before any flights. On top of this, the state of the runway must be scrutinized before and after every aircraft landing or taking off from it. The engineers should put a lot of emphasis on testing the aircraft before taking offs, and regular checks can prevent mechanical problems like wobbling of the landing gears from causing the tragedy.

Most accidents have been blamed on human error; nevertheless, the Concorde crash was attributed to major external factors. Moreover, engineers should also prioritize the conservation of the environment in their work. The design of the machines should consider the consequences of their use in the environment and the effects on both humans and other living creatures. Pollution is a current major concern, most of the machines developed in the 21st century should apply safer methods that are environmentally friendly. When certifying an airplane for a particular use, stringent measures guiding the pilots and other members of the crew should be applied. Checks on the maximum weight an aircraft should have is a pivotal exercise that cannot be compromised.

References

Fahey, D. W., Keim, E. R., Boering, K. A., Brock, C. A., Wilson, J. C., Jonsson, H. H.,… & Salawitch, R. J. (1995). Emission measurements of the Concorde supersonic aircraft in the lower stratosphere. Science, 270(5233), 70-74.

Faugier, E. (2017). The necessity of slowing time: Speed as a bridge between transport history and mobility history. Mobility in History, 8(1), 107-114.

Gao, H., & Do, G. (2015). Emission Measurements of the Concorde Supersonic Aircraft in the Lower Stratosphere.

Glancey, J. (2015). Concorde: The rise and fall of the supersonic airliner. Atlantic Books.

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