This was actually the fourth time that Concorde has lost part of a rudder in flight. The last time was 1992, also BAW 001 into JFK. After that one, both AFR and BAW had new rudders fabricated and installed on all the Concordes. It was still the original design, but with the intent to eliminate any cumulative fatigue by replacing with new. They never fully understood what makes it happen. So here we go again now.
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Wow. I hadn't heard of this problem before. Scary.
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British Airways has launched an urgent investigation after part of a Concorde tail rudder fell off during a flight from London to New York, the BBC has learned.
It is the fifth rudder failure on a BA Concorde since 1989, despite changes to inspection procedures aimed at preventing such incidents.
Air accident investigators are concerned that the incident is "very similar" to a previous one in 1998.
The Concorde pilots on the flight last Wednesday said they felt a continuous vibration in the aircraft as it was approaching New York.
After a normal landing they found that part of the lower rudder on the tail fin was missing.
None of the 105 people on board were injured in the incident.
A report after the 1998 incident said that checks should have detected that the rudder was coming apart.
BBC transport correspondent Simon Montague says investigators now want to know if subsequent tightening of investigation procedures failed to work.
The Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates safety in the UK, says it has a continuing programme of monitoring Concorde rudders and it is happy for the aircraft to continue flying.
