Flight AF4590 was scheduled for departure from Paris at 3:25 pm local time. The aircraft left the parking space at 4:31 pm, an hour and 6 minutes late.

There were two reasons for this delay.

1) Technical Reasons

During the earlier return flight from New York (JFK) on 24 July for this aircraft the captain reported the number 2 engine thrust reversers were not operational.

This spare part for the thrust reversers was not available in the parts warehouse.

However, given the technical tolerance authorised by the manufacturer, the aircraft could take off again without being repaired.

This information was presented to the captain of Flight AF4590.

The captain made the decision to have the spare part changed.

The spare part was immediately obtained from another spare Concorde (it took 30 minutes to make the necessary repairs).

2) Operations

The 100 passengers on this special flight had very short connections at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and were all carrying luggage.

Due to the late arrival of the luggage from the connecting flight, the Concorde was delayed even further.

Only after the spare part was replaced and the luggage loaded did the captain make the decision to depart.