The last words of the pilot of the doomed Air France Concorde, Christian Marty, will be revealed on Thursday when accident investigators present their initial findings. The report will reveal what is known so far about the 25 July crash outside Paris, which killed all 109 people on board and four people on the ground. The crew had no hope of averting disaster, says the report The 80-page document is expected to contain a transcript of the last five minutes of conversation between the pilots and the control tower. This, they say, led to one or more punctures of at least one fuel tank and an intense fire which the crew had no hope of containing. A full investigation into the disaster is not expected to be concluded for many months, but the initial findings confirm earlier theories that debris from a shredded tyre was to blame.
Investigators say the report is a progress update, revealing only what is known so far.
The Concorde's left wing has been reconstructed The current theory is that the disastrous tyre burst was caused by the supersonic plane hitting a stray piece of metal of unknown origin on the runway. A spokesman for the French Air Transport Gendarmerie said investigators had reconstructed the plane's left wing, from which a plume of smoke and flame was seen shooting during and after take off. Investigators have also discovered some 5,000 items of jewellery and valuables belonging to the plane's passengers, said the spokesman. Photographs of the items will be placed on computer discs and circulated to the respective embassies of the crash victims, where relatives can come forward and claim them. Sellafield closure Airlines ask EU for more aid French seek Pakistan help over journalist Abkhazia 'on verge of war' Egyptian 'terrorist' arrested in Baku Links to more Europe stories are at the foot of the page.