New Tests Said to Bolster Theory in Concord Crash

New tests bolster the theory that a metal strip believed to have led to last year’s Concorde crash came from a Continental Airlines DC-10, investigators said.

Photographs taken in Houston, where Continental is based, helped identify the strip, France’s Accident Investigation Bureau said in a statement.

Investigators believe that one of the Concorde’s tires burst after running over a metal strip. The explosion sent rubber debris into the aircraft’s wing, prompting a fuel leak and fire that caused the crash.

The statement said that tests have “established a close relation between the metallic strip and the joint area on the cowl on engine 3 of the Continental Airlines DC-10.”