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8 Transp. L.J. 47 (1976)
Safety Regulation of the Concorde Supersonic Transport: Realistic Confinement of the National Environmental Policy Act

handle is hein.journals/tportl8 and id is 51 raw text is: Safety Regulation Of The Concorde
Supersonic Transport: Realistic Confinement Of
The National Environmental Policy Act*
ROBERT B. DONIN**
INTRODUCTION
Rarely if ever in the past has government provided the forum for so
dramatic a confrontation between man's technological ingenuity and his
concern for environmental quality as in the controversy over the Concorde
Supersonic Transport. Depending upon the observer's point of view;
Concorde has been depicted as both an elegant1 delta-wing airplane
and a bird of prey;'2 as one of the most positive steps forward made in
aviation . . . since the industrial revolution'3 and the Edsel of the
airways;'4 as a symbol of progress and a symbol of environmental
degradation.
On February 4, 1976, supporters of Concorde scored a partial victory
when Secretary of Transportation William T. Coleman, Jr. issued a 61-
page decision authorizing British Airways and Air France to conduct a
16-month demonstration of Concorde service with four flights per day to
* The views contained herein are those of the author and not the Department of
Transportation.
** Special Assistant to the General Counsel, Office of the Secretary of Transportation B.A.,
Colgate University, 1971, J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1974.
1. A. WILSON, THE CONCORDE FIASCO 154 (Penguin ed. 1973).
2. The New York Times, February 24, 1976, at 34, col. 5 (Letter to the Editor from John J.
Butler, Chairman, Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise).
3. C. GARDNER, CONCORDE: THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED 1 (promotional booklet published by
British Aircraft Corporation, U.S.A.).
4. New York and the Concorde, The Washington Post, February 27, 1976, at A24, col. 2
(editorial).

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