Terminal Collapse at Paris CDG Airport
on May 23, 2004


Airport accident

2004 May 24th

France, Paris, Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport:


Around 7a.m. on Sunday morning a 98-foot section of vaulted roof of the new, showcase terminal 2E at- touted as a jewel of design, safety and comfort - collapsed and tons of concrete, steel, and glass crashed down on a waiting area inside the terminal; just ahead of the collapse an Air France flight had arrived from Newark, N.J., and another from Johannesburg, South Africa. A third plane was taking off for Prague from the airport located in Roissy, north of Paris. Therefore, only a moderate number of passengers in the terminal at the early hour.
Police officers had already begun cordoning off the floor after people heard creaking noises and spotted cracks in the roof and dust falling from the ceiling. Within minutes masonry started crashing to the ground.
The $890 million terminal, designed for a capacity of 10 million passengers a year is a tunnel-shaped construction hundreds of yards long with slots for 17 aircraft was opened to on June 25, 2003 after construction delays due to safety issues. After the collapse the terminal, which mainly serves Air France, was evacuated and shut down, delaying scores of flights. The terminal mainly serves Air France; at least 5 people, including 3 police officers, died and 12 others were injured.