25 July 2000
The Paris crash, in the wording of the sources
This page is short on purpose. The facts below are taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica and from National Museums Scotland. They are not a reconstruction, and they are not an inquiry.
On 25 July 2000, a Concorde en route from Paris to New York City suffered engine failure shortly after takeoff when debris from a burst tyre caused a fuel tank to rupture and burst into flames. The aircraft crashed into a small hotel and restaurant. All 109 people on board — 100 passengers and 9 crew — died; 4 people on the ground were also killed.1
National Museums Scotland records the same date, 25 July 2000, and the same loss of life: one hundred passengers, nine crew and four people on the ground.2
The Concorde fleets of Air France and British Airways were subsequently grounded, but not before Alpha Alpha made what was to be her final flight, from JFK New York to London Heathrow on Saturday 12 August 2000.2
In 2001, Concorde was back after a £17 million revamp, but Alpha Alpha was not selected for upgrade.2
The Science Museum, writing in 2009, notes that a fatal crash in Paris in July 2000 temporarily grounded the fleet, and that, economically, the writing then seemed to be on the wall for the supersonic service. The retirement itself is on the next page.