Investigators probing the cause of the doomed Concorde flight said Sunday that the flames spewing out of the aircraft most likely came from a major fuel leak and that they believe they have found part of a fuel tank on the runway, reported The Associated Press.
The supersonic jet crashed minutes after takeoff Tuesday from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, slamming into a hotel outside the city and killing 114 people. According to the agency, even as it was leaving the runway to begin the deadly flight, fire could be seen pouring from the back of the aircraft.
"The flames seen after takeoff did not come from the engine, but, in all likelihood, from a major fuel leak," the Accident and Inquiry Office, part of France's transportation ministry, said in a statement Sunday.
The statement said "one of the pieces found on the runway seems to come from a fuel tank."
If confirmed, the find could bolster the theory that one or more of the plane's tires ruptured on takeoff, spewing debris that pierced a part of the plane near one of the engines and caused a fire, added the AP.
Meanwhile, on Sunday a British Airways Concorde flying from London made an emergency stop in Gander, Newfoundland, after the crew smelled gasoline in the cabin, the airline said.
The airway made arrangements to fly the passengers - including entertainers Tony Bennett and George Benson - on to New York.
It was the third problem in two days involving a British Airways' Concorde, the only other airline to operate the supersonic luxury jets, said the agency.
Air France grounded its Concorde fleet following Tuesday's crash.
On Saturday evening, a loud bang was reported inside a Concorde flight from New York to London, which later landed safely.
Then early Sunday, a Concorde was unable to take off from London's Heathrow airport because of a refueling problem.
The incidents come as French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot called a meeting of international aviation experts on Sunday to discuss new safety measures before letting Air France resume its Concorde flights.
Specialists from Air France and the French and British transportation ministries were to begin meeting Monday "in view of an eventual resumption of flights" of Air France's supersonic jetliners, Jacques Girerd, spokesman for France's civil aviation authority told the agency - Albawaba.com
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