Concorde's arrival capped by thievery

Removal of the flight engineer's cap occurred soon after the British Airways Concorde arrived last week at the Museum of Flight. The museum is hopeful about repair, calling this "another restoration project." Removal of the flight engineer's cap occurred soon after the British Airways Concorde arrived last week at the Museum of Flight. The museum is hopeful about repair, calling this "another restoration project." Photo: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer Photo: Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Concorde's arrival capped by thievery 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

When British Airways chief Concorde pilot Mike Bannister delivered one of the supersonic jets to Seattle's Museum of Flight last week, he spoke with pride about the world's fastest commercial jetliner and how he was leaving it in good hands.

But only a day or two after the delivery ceremony Nov. 5, a thief removed a very special "piece" of the Concorde that Bannister and his flight crew had deliberately left in the needle-nosed cockpit.

It was the British Airways cap belonging to flight engineer Trevor Norcott.

This was no ordinary cap left behind on a seat.

When the Concorde flies faster than sound, its airframe expands by design as friction heats the skin. As part of this expansion, a small gap opens next to the instrument panel at the flight engineer's station.

On the Concorde's flight to Seattle, Norcott placed his cap in that gap during the supersonic flight over Canada.

The gap closed tight around his cap when the plane slowed and the skin cooled.

The crew meant for it to remain there forever, for the public to see when they visit the Concorde.

With the end of the Concorde, British Airways has no more need for flight engineers. It is why Bannister decided it would be appropriate for Norcott to leave his cap behind as a personal touch.

But a day or two after the delivery ceremony, a thief took the cap. The person could not pull it out, so he or she cut it out.

Many people have been going in and out of the Concorde, from British Airways and the museum to grounds people at Boeing Field. They have been getting the plane ready for public display.

Not knowing who took the cap, the museum put the word out that no questions would be asked if it were returned.

It was. Anonymously.

But because the Concorde will not fly again, there is no way to place the cap back in the gap while the jet is streaking through the sky at 1,350 miles per hour.

And besides, the cap was cut or ripped out, not pulled out.

The museum says it will find a way to have the cap become part of the Concorde again.

"It's another restoration project," a spokesman said yesterday.

The museum is planning to have the Concorde ready for the public to view the inside beginning Nov. 28 -- with or without the cap.