On 25 July 2000 Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde, crashed shortly after take-off from Paris, killing 113 people. The accident grounded the fleet temporarily and severely damaged public confidence in supersonic passenger travel. It marked the beginning of the end for Concorde's commercial life.

The crash punctured one of aviation's most glamorous myths at the turn of the millennium. In cultural memory, Concorde shifted from futuristic promise to elegiac symbol, a beautiful machine overtaken by cost, risk, and time.