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The daughter of an elite flight engineer who was one of 113 people killed in a terrifying plane crash has revealed his heartbreaking last words to her.

It has been 26 years since Air France flight A4590 caught on fire just 77 seconds after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport. The Paris flight was bound for New York on July 25, 2000. The devastating loss of life was the beginning of the end for the supersonic plane, with Concorde ceasing operations three years later.

One of Concorde’s most respected flight engineers was Gile Jardinaud and he was part of the crew on that horrific day.

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His daughter, Sandrine Quignon-Fleuret, has now revealed her last ever conversation with him, for a Channel 4 documentary called Concorde Crash Days That Shocked The World.

Hours before the flight, Gile visited his daughter, who was moving house at the time.

She remembered: “I was in a completely empty apartment. He came by and told me ‘I just wanted to see my grandson and kiss you.’

“And he said to me, ‘Well, I’m just taking one last flight to New York and then I’m spending a week of vacation with my grandson. I’m going to take care of him, help you with your move.’

There is a chilling picture ingrained in aviation history showing the aircraft, which was carrying nine crew members and 100 passengers, engulfed in flames.

And speaking about it, Sandrine said: “The famous image of the Concorde on fire, for many people it’s just the Concorde burning, but for me I know that my father was on board.

“So when I see this image, my heart aches and I cry because it’s not just a press image for me.”

Gile and his wife raised their three children in a small village in the south east of Paris and Sandrine remembered having memorable family trips growing up.

The children had opportunities to travel with him on flights and she remembered going to New York for her 18th birthday.

She said he was incredibly passionate about his profession and that aviation was his “universe”.

However, she could never have imagined that the day he came over to give her a kiss and see his grandson would be the last time she would ever speak to him.

And after learning about the fatal crash, she had to phone her sister who was just 24 at the time and in Barcelona with friends.

Fighting tears, she said it was the strongest memory she had, and she added: “I was in the car, we were arriving at my mum’s house and I told her at that moment. And that’s the hardest memory.

“That brings things back. Sorry, I didn't want to cry.”

The plane caught fire seconds after take off before ploughing into a hotel in the town of Gonesse where four people were killed on the ground taking the total number of casualties to 113.

After catching fire, the pilots tried to reach Le Bourget airport, but they lost power in one engine and could not accelerate or gain altitude.

It was later confirmed that a burst tyre had caused the catastrophic crash.

The investigators said: “The accident shows that the destruction of a tyre, an event that we cannot say will not recur, had catastrophic consequences in a short period of time, preventing the crew from rectifying the situation.

“The crew had no way of knowing about the nature of the fire nor any means of fighting it.”

And speaking about her father, and the other crew members, Sandrine told the documentary: “They did their job to the end, until the last second, I know that.

“I‘ve heard the tapes. I’e heard the cockpit recordings.”

In the wake of the disaster, captain Christian Marty’s final words were made public, along with those of his co-pilot.

The control tower told him: “Concorde zero...4590, you have flames. You have flames behind you.”

But as they tried to gain enough speed to reach Le Bourget, Mr Marty said: “Too late… No time.”

His co-pilot meanwhile said: “Le Bourget, Le Bourget. Negative; we are trying Le Bourget.”