The last of Air France's Aérospatiale/BAe Concordes to fly is being used for tests in Toulouse in the judicial inquiry into the July 2000 fatal crash near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The aircraft (F-BVFC) has been prepared for ground-run trials by seconded Air France engineers and flightcrew. Last week the aircraft carried out ground acceleration runs with a gear system component missing from the left gear bogie beam, as it had been in the accident. The inquest is using the Airbus Museum's Concorde to test the assertion that the absence of the spacer did not contribute to the accident.
Source: Flight International
