Major Fuel Leak Believed Source of Concorde Fire

PARIS — Investigators probing the cause of the doomed Concorde flight said Sunday that flames seen spewing from the aircraft most likely came from a major fuel leak and that they believe they found part of a fuel tank on the runway.

The supersonic jet crashed less than a minute after takeoff Tuesday from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 114 people.

“The flames seen after takeoff did not come from the engine but, in all likelihood, from a major fuel leak,” French officials said in a statement Sunday. They added that “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.

Meanwhile, a British Airways Concorde flight from London to New York made an emergency stop in Canada on Sunday after passengers complained about a smell of gasoline in the cabin, the airline said.

Flight 003 was grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, pending safety checks, British Airways spokeswoman Jemma Moore said.

The airline chartered a Boeing 737 to take the 57 passengers, who included singer Tony Bennett and guitarist George Benson, to New York early today.