Concorde Probe Explores Effects of Blown Tire
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PARIS — Investigators searching for the cause of the Air France Concorde crash combed through wreckage and examined debris in high-tech labs Saturday, trying to confirm whether a tire explosion could have triggered the jet’s fiery plunge.
A tire blew out on the supersonic jet’s undercarriage as it raced down the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport for takeoff, France’s Transportation Ministry confirmed Friday.
Efforts continued at the crash site and in scientific labs to determine whether the blown tire started the chain of events that led to an engine breakdown and the crash Tuesday that killed 114 people, said a spokesman at the ministry’s Accident and Inquiry office.
Investigators have asked the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for information on tires that the company supplied for the plane to determine if tire debris found on the runway came from the supersonic jet, Chris Aked, a company spokesman based in Ohio, was quoted as saying in Saturday’s Akron Beacon Journal.
Meanwhile, French police appealed for eyewitnesses to phone a hotline to help piece together the moments before the crash. The hotline number is 011 33 1 4896-3028.
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