WORLD : Window Cracks Turn Concorde Back
A supersonic Concorde jet en route to New York with 69 passengers returned to Paris after cracks appeared in a porthole as the plane was about halfway across the Atlantic, Air France said today.
Air France Flight 001 was at 59,000 feet and had just reached supersonic speed Sunday when the cracks were noticed at the top of the outermost of four glass plates in one porthole, said Air France spokesman Laurent Kressman. He did not know who first noticed the cracks about 90 minutes into the 3 hour, 45 minute flight. The pilot slowed the jet, dropped to 32,000 feet and returned to Charles de Gaulle airport, Kressman said.
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