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Michelin shows 'safer' Concorde tyres

Concorde
All Concordes have been grounded since last year's crash  


By CNN Paris bureau chief Peter Humi

PARIS, France (CNN) -- Michelin has unveiled tyres for the Concorde supersonic jet that the French manufacturer says are more resistant to damage.

The Radial NZG, which stands for "near zero growth," is Michelin's response to last July's crash of an Air France Concorde, which went down shortly after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, killing 113 people -- 100 passengers, nine crew and four on the ground.

An ongoing investigation reveals the accident was probably caused when one of the jet's Goodyear tyres burst, sending debris into the fuselage and fuel tank, which led to a fire and then engine failure.

All Concorde jets were grounded shortly after the crash, but France's civil aviation authority (DGAC) allowed Air France to try out the new tyres, during ground and test flights last month.

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Technicians in France also tested the supersonic jet with a reinforced fuel tank, designed to offer more protection against punctures.

The airline has said Concorde passenger flights could resume this summer or in early autumn.

The airline's chief executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta told the Associated Press last month: "Taking into account everything I know ... I think we can consider that the airplane could have its airworthiness certificate returned during the summer or at the beginning of fall -- though it's not for me to say."

Pierre Desmarets, the director general of Michelin's aviation tires, told CNN on Thursday that during takeoffs and landings at normal speed, even if there is debris on the runway, "this tyre does not blow up."

The manufacturer said the Radial NZG was more resistant to damage and better at coping with the weight of a jet, fully laden with fuel -- two key qualities in the field of aviation. The new tyre is also more resistant to structural deformation under the weight of the jet.

Michelin said the tyre was made up of a new "high-modulus" reinforced material, and that they offered the best possible response to the extreme loads exerted by aircraft.

The company has manufactured automobile tyres for over a century, however the Paris-based company has only supplied them for aircraft since 1981.

BA confident of resumption

The decision to restore the jets' airworthiness certificate rests with the French and British governments.

Both British Airways (BA) and Air France, which operate the world's fleet of Concordes, have said their supersonic service will resume once the jets are authorised to fly.

And they have both said they hoped to offer supersonic trans-Atlantic services this year, but the timetable depends on how long it takes to make changes to the aircraft.

BA said earlier this month it was confident that the UK Civil Aviation Authority would re-issue the certificate of airworthiness for the planes.

Rod Eddington, BA's chief executive, said: "I am confident we will have it (Concorde) back in the air by late summer."

However he added: "It is the regulator that has the final call not the airline."





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RELATED SITES:
• CAA - Civil Aviation Authority
• Air France
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