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Concorde will fly again, says French minister

PARIS (CNN) -- French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot has said he is convinced that Concorde flights will resume -- despite the supersonic jet being grounded following the disaster near Paris two months ago.

The minister insisted: "The Concorde is not finished. If you want my profound conviction -- it will fly again."

British and French authorities have revoked the airworthiness certificate for the supersonic jet pending completion of the investigation into the crash which killed 118 people on July 25.

Gayssot told Europe 1 radio that British and French experts are to meet in Paris on Thursday to examine safety measures that could be taken to avoid a repeat of the disaster.

He said: "That group of experts will ask the constructors to make proposals so the chain of events that led to the catastrophe cannot be repeated."

French investigators believe a 17-inch strip of metal lying on the runway punctured a tyre on the Concorde, sparking a chain of events that led to the disaster.

Investigators inspect US jet

Rubber chunks from the tyre pierced fuel tanks, setting off the fatal fire which brought the plane down, killing all 109 passengers and crew aboard and four on the ground.

Investigators this week flew to Houston, Texas, to inspect a Continental Airlines jet that took off shortly before the doomed Concorde on the same runway at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

They determined that a piece of metal wear strip was missing from the space between the fan reverser and the core door on the right-wing engine of the Continental DC-10.

A piece of metal French investigators said was "very similar" to the strip missing from the Continental jet was found on the runway.

Air France and British Airways are the only operators of the supersonic craft. There are now only twelve Concordes worldwide -- seven with British Airways and five at Air France.

The French carrier said on Monday it did not see the Concorde coming back into service until April 2001 at the earliest. Investigations into the cause of the Concorde crash are likely to take more than a year to be completed.

Reuters contributed to this report.



RELATED STORIES:
Concorde inquiry examines DC10 link
September 4, 2000
Report sheds new light on Concorde crash
September 1, 2000
Mini-Concordes 'future of supersonic travel'
August 24, 2000
France and Britain debate Concorde's future
August 17, 2000
Supersonic travel: Down, but not out
August 16, 2000
Concorde needs modifications, say experts
August 15, 2000

RELATED SITES:
British Airways - Flights - Aircraft/Fleet
Page d'accueil Air France
CONCORDE SST

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