Preliminary Concorde Report Released

The first word that something had gone terribly wrong with the Concorde came from the control tower when the plane was in the air, according to a preliminary report on the July crash made public Thursday by investigators probing the fiery tragedy.

“Concorde zero . . . 4590, you have flames. You have flames behind you,” the control tower said.

It was 4:43 p.m. on July 25. Air France Flight 4590 had just lifted its needle nose. Seven seconds after the message from the control tower at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the chief navigator confirmed, “Breakdown eng- . . . breakdown engine two.”

“Cut engine two,” he said, four seconds later.

The aircraft tried to gain speed for an emergency landing. But pilot Christian Marty could be heard saying, “Too late.”

The chilling seconds were resurrected in five minutes of cockpit conversation posted on the Internet on Thursday. The recordings were part of a preliminary report by France’s Accident and Inquiry Office.

All 109 passengers and crew members died when the Concorde, spewing flames, dove into a hotel near the airport. Four people on the ground were also killed.

The inquiry office has said it believes that a tire blowout was at the origin of a “catastrophic chain of events” that sent the jet plummeting.

However, the cockpit conversation indicates that it was the control tower that first alerted the crew to real trouble. There was no indication from the recordings that the crew was aware that a tire had been gashed.

“It’s burning badly, and I’m not sure it’s coming from the engine,” said someone in the control tower.

At 4:43 and 31 seconds--18 seconds after the announcement of flames--the control tower coolly advised, “So, at your convenience, you have priority to land.”

Firefighters were prepared to meet the plane on Runway 26 of Charles de Gaulle, where the journey began. However, the co-pilot said “Le Bourg,” referring to nearby Le Bourget Airport. Then, Marty was heard to say, “Too late.” It was 4:44 and 16 seconds, near the close of an eerily cool exchange that on paper gives little indication that the end was near.