Concorde Under Strain Again

Structural cracks have returned to plague the British Airways' Concorde fleet, forcing the grounding of one aircraft. BA's seven Concordes are the pride of the airline, and the subject of constant maintenance attention, but the demanding regime of supersonic flight is taking its toll on the airframes. In recent years Concorde has suffered other cracking incidents, most notably in the rudder.

The latest problems surfaced across the entire fleet some months ago, and worsened to a degree that has forced the temporary withdrawal of one of the airplanes. The 2-inch cracks were detected in the rear spar-deemed to be a non-critical element of the airframe, and not a threat to safety. When routine ultrasonic monitoring found that some cracks had widened, the aircraft concerned was taken out of service. British Airways is now working with Concorde's manufacturers (BAE Systems and Aerospatiale Matra) to find a solution, and hopes to return the grounded aircraft to service by September.

By Robert Hewson