Plane debris: ‘There is no cover up’

Tuesday 9th March 2010, 2:59PM GMT.

Jersey Airport.

JERSEY Airport has denied claims that it tried to cover up an incident that has been likened to the cause of the 2000 Concorde disaster in Paris.

Last week the JEP reported that an official inquiry was under way after large parts of a commercial plane fell onto the runway and went undetected while other planes landed and took off.

The Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Paul Routier, who has responsibility for the Airport, has confirmed that pieces of debris were found on the runway and grass area on Tuesday 23 February.

The loss of the Air France Concorde in Paris was caused by a piece of metal lying on the runway which fell from a Continental Airlines aircraft.

In a statement, Senator Routier said: ‘In line with standard procedures, the runway was immediately closed while the debris was removed and subsequently swept.’

See Tuesday’s JEP for full story.