One would not expect such a small piece of debris to do the damage it did. Was it the tyre debris or the piece of metal that ruptured the fuel tank? In either case the "Continental" flight tech should not have used titanium to effect the repair and both he and Continental knew that.

Lots of reports of tyre problems resulted in how many aircraft turning into fire-balls as they sped down the runway?

Note the big difference here between the corporate attitude of Continental and the corporate attitude of BP. Will Continental be asked to post a multimillion dollar bond to cover potential claims? Somehow I doubt it. The initial investigation laid the blame at their door and now the French Courts have ruled that they are fault.