Concorde loses rudder piece in air

Concorde loses rudder piece in air

Concorde has been flying since 1976

An Air France Concorde has landed safely in New York after losing part of its rudder during a transatlantic flight.

The supersonic airliner had taken off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and reached New York as scheduled.

Last week an Air France Concorde on the same route had to make an emergency landing in Canada after suffering engine problems.

British Airways and Air France grounded their Concorde fleets in July 2000, when one crashed after take-off in Paris, killing 113 people.

Concorde flights were resumed in November 2001, but on Wednesday British Airways announced that Concorde could be taken out of service following a drop in demand.

'Safe to fly'

Air France said that a technical investigation was under way after Thursday's incident.

It is believed to be the first time that there has been a rudder problem on an Air France Concorde, although British Airways has had five such incidents on its fleet, the Press Association reports.

Air safety experts have said Concorde remains safe to fly even if an aircraft loses one of the four "wedge" sections which make up the vertical tail rudder.

And pilots have found that partial loss of the rudder does not significantly affect aircraft handling or landing.

An investigation into the July 2000 tragedy concluded that it had been caused by a burst tyre which had ruptured a fuel tank.