France, Britain to Test Concordes

P A R I S, Jan. 15 -- Tests on France's grounded fleet of supersonic Concordes will be carried out next week and the luxury jets could very likely fly again sometime this year, the country's transportation minister said today.

The fleet of 12 supersonic jets has been grounded since ablazing Air France Concorde smashed into a hotel minutes aftertaking off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport last July. All 109people on board and four on the ground were killed. Jean-Claude Gayssot, the transportation minister, told RMC radiothat ground tests would be carried out in France next week andflight tests in Britain. Gayssot said he would wait for the results of the tests beforemaking a decision on whether to renew the jets' airworthinesscertificate, which he suspended after the crash. Asked when Concorde would resume service, Gayssot said, "I hopeit will be as soon as possible. It seems quite probable to me thatit will be in 2001." Gayssot said the ground tests would be carried out at a militaryaviation base in Istres, in southern France, and that the flighttests would be carried out in Britain. British Airways is the onlyother operator of Concordes and British officials have been closelyinvolved in the inquiry into the Air France crash. "I want to be given the necessary guarantees to prove that thechain of events which led to the catastrophe cannot happen again,"Gayssot said. "For the airworthiness certificate to be awarded, Ineed these elements, and I am waiting for the tests to be carriedout," he added.

Jets to Get New Fuel Tank Liners

Air France grounded its fleet of Concordes after last year'scrash. British Airways kept its planes flying until shortly beforethe jets' airworthiness certificate was withdrawn in mid-August. Authorities believe the crash was caused when a metal stripgashed one of the Concorde's tires, sending rubber debris hurtlingtoward fuel tanks and triggering a fuel leak and fire that broughtthe plane down. Investigators believe the strip came from aContinental Airlines DC-10, that used the same runway a few minutesbefore the doomed jet.