Air France Concorde completes test flight with passengers

PARIS – A supersonic Concorde took off yesterday morning from an airport outside Paris for a test flight with passengers on board for the first time since last year's deadly crash.

The plane, known as Fox Bravo, lifted off at 10:50 a.m. from Charles de Gaulle Airport with 86 passengers aboard, all Air France employees.

With four pilots in the cockpit, the jet flew out over the Atlantic and back, flying at supersonic speeds and reaching an altitude of 52,500-59,000 feet.

Air France had grounded its fleet of Concorde airplanes immediately after a July 25, 2000, crash that killed 113 people.

The aircraft used in yesterday's test flight was the first Air France Concorde to win clearance for commercial flight.

The aircraft has been equipped with a new fuel-tank lining and stronger tires, changes designed to prevent the chain of events that caused the Concorde to catch fire and crash into a hotel shortly after takeoff last year.

Commercial flights are expected to resume in November, Air France says. British Airways, the only other airlines to fly the Concorde, also plans to resume flights this fall.