Air France Flight 4590 was a Concorde flight operated by Air France which was scheduled to run from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. On 25 July 2000, it crashed in Gonesse, France. All one hundred passengers and nine crew members on board the flight died. On the ground, four people were killed with one left injured.
What most people don't realize is that this was a FOD incident. During takeoff, an Air France Concorde (Flight 4590) ran over a piece of metal on the runway. The piece of metal caused a tire to fail; pieces of the tire ruptured the fuel tank, ignited the fuel and ultimately resulted in a loss of aircraft control that ended with the Concorde crashing into a nearby hotel.
An investigation found that a full runway inspection was canceled just hours before the crash. This is a clear example of why we have a 139 certification program, and an incident such as this would be included in Phase II of the SRM process.
- Your turn; Choose a portion of the 139 certification process and tell us about why it is so important.
- Part 139 regulations are clear, yet incidents happen. What can the FAA implement to insure more effective use of Part 139, to minimize or eliminate incidents?