PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Concorde Paris crash, questions, facts, opinions
Old 9th Sep 2010, 12:43
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lomapaseo
 
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EXWOK

No Concorde tank was ever penetrated by a tyre. Really.

Early events were cause by WHEEL failures, hence the redesign of the wheel ('blue' wheels).

A piece of 'cow catcher' (water deflector) penetrated a tank following a tyre burst, this led to the modification of the 'cowcatcher'.

So this event was unique. The tank was not penetrated but was blown out from inside some distance from the point of impact.

So....not necessarily an event definitely 'likely to occur in the next few years'.

Reasons for the blowing out?? Manifold - and subject to some conjecture, but it was not possible to replicate the event in testing when the fuel system was configured as per flight manual.
Just trying to clarify my understanding of what you have said

Putting aside the previous (to the crash) incidents what, where and how did the fuel tank penetration in the crash occur?

It was my understanding that the rubber tread from the tyre struck the tank setting up a hydraulic shockwave (full tank) which reverberated back and progressed a minute fracture in the aluminum to a square foot blown out hole. This rather large piece of the tank wall was recovered from the runway.

If you have something different from my understanding would you describe it?
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