Originally Posted by J-Class

For me the titanium strip from the Continental DC-10 is a red herring. There's always a risk of foreign objects on any runway. The question is, how is this risk being mitigated? In Concorde's case, there had been prior incidents of tyre bursts breaching the fuel tanks; but the proper mitigation for this risk (the fitting of kevlar insulation into the tanks) wasn't carried out until after a hull loss had occurred. But the record of previous incidents was there and should have generated a stronger reaction. So I tend to blame regulatory failure (possibly with the connivance of the manufacter and operators), rather than Continental Airlines. Sooner or later, some foreign object or another was likely to generate the same result.

I agree that the various loading issues and the spacer were probably contributing factors and Air France has been let off very lightly for its poor operations and maintenance.