Earlier today, I finished reading Mike Bannister’s recently published book “Concorde”.

The book reads as a biography. First of Mr. Bannister’s career with British Airways, describing his experiences as Concorde co-pilot, Captain, Training Captain, Chief Pilot, and more. It describes how Mr. Bannister worked hard not just as a pilot of Concorde, but in a management role to promote Concorde within British Airways, and to help lead the fleet of 7 aircraft to considerable profitability for the airline.

It also reads as a history of the Concorde, though with heavier emphasis on its service with British Airways, the 2000 crash of Air France flight 4590 at Paris, and its retirement in 2003.

In particular, the book leads the reader through the accident chain of events, explaining in clear and great detail how each incident and decision contributed to the accident. It also makes very clear, though without specifically saying so, that the French accident investigation process was highly flawed and I would say obstructive of properly determining the causes of the accident.

It’s a well written book, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest, dare I say passion, for Concorde.

I found my copy on Amazon..

Separately, there is an excellent video on YouTube narrated by Captain John Hutchinson that describes the events of that terrible day. Mr. Hutchinson was also a long serving Captain on Concorde for British Airways, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience with the aircraft. Interestingly, Mr. Hutchinson was co-pilot on the BOAC 707 (G-ARWE) that crash landed at Heathrow on April 8th 1968.

His video on YouTube