New Doc to Spotlight Concorde Passenger Jet

LONDON: Channel 4, Discovery UK and Smithsonian Channel have commissioned a 90-minute documentary from Darlow Smithson Productions that will tell the story of the world’s first and last supersonic passenger jet.

Tentatively titled Concorde: The Supersonic Age, the film will explore the defining moments in the jet’s history, telling the story behind the crash of flight AF4590 in 2000. It will be executive produced by Julian Ware and Tom Brisley, written and directed by Christopher Spencer and produced by Charlotte Surtees and Alex Kiehl for Darlow Smithson.

Brisley, the creative director at Darlow Smithson, said: “Concorde was a marvel of engineering—born of the space-age dream for supersonic passenger travel; it was aviation’s equivalent of putting a man on the moon. This film will reveal the untold story of Concorde and capture the essence of the enduring affection that Britain has for the aircraft.”

Tanya Shaw, Channel 4’s commissioning editor, commented: “Concorde was the embodiment of a design dream: technologically without rival, and aesthetically more impressive than another passenger jet. But on July 25, 2000, the dream turned to a nightmare, and this film will chart how the crash sparked the beginning of the end for the supersonic dream.”

Dan Korn, the senior VP of programming at Discovery Networks UK, added: “When Concorde first flew, over 40 years ago, she was a shining symbol of Anglo-French ingenuity and design. The tragic crash of a decade ago changed all that forever. At a time when claims for compensation by the relatives of the deceased have only recently reached the French courts, this film reveals the facts behind the crash, which claimed 113 lives and consigned one of the greatest aircraft ever built to the scrap yard.”

David Royle, the executive VP at Smithsonian Networks, said: “This is one of the few cases where humankind has given up on a technological wonder and let it become defunct. Today, a Concorde sits in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, like an extinct flying reptile. Darlow Smithson has brought its sound-breaking story back to supersonic life.”