The REAL story About the Crash that Killed Concorde! | Air France flight 4590

DC-10, a plane so troubled that when it’s not crashing itself it’s crashing others.

One of my classmates died in that flight. We were 8 at the time, so when our teacher told us that he wouldn't be back after the holidays, we didn't really grasp it and just were sad about him dying. Since this was before the wide spread of the internet and we were kids, I never knew the details of the crash until I accidentally stumbled over this video today. His last moments must have been so horrifying. His name was Michael Kahle, he just finished 2nd grade, loved soccer (especially Borussia Mönchengladbach and trading soccer cards) and joked a lot. I think, I'll pay his grave a visit soon.

Ahh the DC-10. Not only dangerous to itself, but dangerous to every other plane around it. I remember the news report as a kid. Even if it was expensive, it was such a beautiful plane.

My best friend called me in Miami and asked me what my opinion was on Concorde... I'm an aviator at heart and was active pilot there at the time... He then opened up to me, he had just lost both his parents, his sister, her life partner and their young son plus 1 more... father was a successful bus entrepreneur contracting line bus services to the City of Munich. Liebe Familie S., RIP

My wife and I were flying Air France from Munich to London with about a 2 hour layover in Paris. As we waited, we talked to a few of the other passengers waiting to catch their flights. Some were going to London with us. Others were headed for Copenhagen. One American couple and one German couple we talked with were going to fly to New York. We boarded before the other flights. As we walked down the entryway we could see our plane to the left. To the right boarding later we could see the sleek Concorde. We commented that it was too bad we could not fly the Concorde to London, then laughed that we were taking the poor man’s plane. We arrived in London and stayed at a bed and breakfast. We told the hosts we flew in from Paris. They turned the TV on and it was showing coverage of the crash of the SST. To this day I remember that my first thoughts were that we had talked to people that were on that flight and that our plane could have been the one with the tragic ending.

Almost didn’t watch it ,seeing that it was 37 mins and I had read about this crash .But once I started ,stayed glued and did not skip a second .Beautifully explained.

This episode and your episode on Tenerife are some of the finest aviation documentaries I've ever watched, seriously better than many I've seen on TV.

One small detail which was missed out was the day Concord did it's first test flight with the new modifications was September 11, 2001. The Concord flew from the UK, over the Atlantic and then back to the UK. The pilots only realised about the terrorist attacks when they returned. The biggest tragedy in the Concord story was that when it was announced they were folding, everybody wanted tickets to fly Concord again and the last flight was sold out. Thanks for your detailed explanation.

I started flying at age 16 and recently retired from aviation at age 72 and your series is the BEST of its kind that I've encountered in accuracy, clarity, depth, and content. Exceptional sir! Exceptional!

My one and only Concorde flight was on this exact same aircraft with the exact same crew 1 month before the crash. I'll never forget the beautiful, elegant flight attendant in her pearl necklace. After lunch was served she learned I was a travel agent with a group on board and she invited me to the flight deck Mid-Atlantic to meet the Captain. (Remember, this was pre-9/11 when you could do that.)

As someone who owns several bikes and forgot a spacer or two on reassemble - the tremendous stakes riding on each and every component in aircrafts never cease to amaze.

I was working at a major airline res center during this time, and I remember walking past the break room to see dozens of people standing and watching the TV in horror. I thought "Oh no, there's been a crash." Absolutely awful day. We all felt so terrible for those aboard the aircraft and everyone at Air France.

This one made me more sad that any other story, not only did a lot of people tragically lose their lives in a horrible and totally avoidable accident...... it was the beginning of the end of the flying career of probably the greatest, the most glamorous, the most famous, the most beautiful and iconic aircraft in aviation history.

My wife's aunt was aboard the Concorde that crashed. We were in close contact with her. We frequently visited each other both in Germany and here in Minnesota. She had called us the day before and told us that she was on her way to an Amazon River Cruise and would be changing planes in New York. The group was too large to all fly on the Concorde so the tour group had a lottery to select those who would fly on the Concorde. My wife's aunt won a seat. She was very excited and sent us her itinery. We were close to her and shared her excitment. We were thinking of her as we saw a news flash on the TV about the crash. It was a real shock. It happened so fast, we hope she was drinking Champagne at the time. Air France called my wife and made arrangements for her to meet the Air France "consoler" who accompanied her to the fumeral in Munich. We miss her so very much.

I took the same route from France at a different time. 1986 Service was fantastic. I was able to go up with the pilots and get some instructions on how they flew the Concorde. I really didn’t want the trip to end.

How awful for all those people on that flight 😓 I find anything like this horrifying. And difficult to comprehend - a little strip of metal on the runway led to this horrific outcome in 2 minutes. Scary. Thank you for the upload, your detail and compassion is evident.

my dad flew on the concorde once from London to New York. He said it took only about 4 hours and it was basically all first class. The cutlery was all real silver and he said it got really hot during takeoff and landing. I wish they'd bring it back so I can fly on it one time... what a magnificent piece of work...

When I was seven years old, I was given a tour of a Concorde on the ground at Dulles Airport. I never flew on the plane, but I did get to meet the captain and even go into the cockpit. About six months later, a friend of my dad’s had me as a passenger in his Cessna. We were cleared for takeoff when we were told to hold because a Concorde needed to go in front of us. I still remember what it was like seeing it pull up, and then the afterburners glowing as it went into the sky. I also remember that the angle of launch was more like a rocket than an airplane.

Having just read the book by the former BA chief Concord pilot I think there's only one important fact missing in this excellent video and that's that the pierced tank should not have been completely full. That was a procedure sometimes done to get more fuel on board but it allowed the mentioned shock induced movement within the tank that eventually led to it bursting. That one was on the crew/PIC.

Very interesting video. I have worked quite some time in the Air France family crisis centers for the Concorde crash, both in Paris and in Germany ( as most victims were German and i speak both languages ). It was quite taxing emotionally to talk to the families of the deceased in the hours, weeks and months following the crash. Oddly i never looked into the various reports and videos about that crash. I think because at the time i would have seem it as morbid curiosity. Finally decades later I’m looking at this video… Strange feeling