Originally Posted By: mk378
Ultimately the verdict with the Concorde was that no matter why the tire blew, it was inherently unsafe to fly when a simple tire blowout during takeoff is likely to cause serious damage to the aircraft, resulting in a fatal crash. So they were all grounded.
It wasn't that simple - tires had blown on Concorde before...with no serious result.
But this tire blew and sent some big chunks of rubber into a vulnerable spot on the underside of the wing. The wing was "wet" - meaning that the skin of the wing was the fuel tank, and so that chunk punctured the fuel tank, which caused the TWO engines on that side to compressor stall and lose thrust.
Conventional four engine airplanes can't take off at maximum weight with two engines inoperative.
And neither could Concorde.
It was already above the speed at which it could stop, so they continued the takeoff, but with two engines out, they had no chance...
When the results of the accident were determined, the certification authorities required armor on the bottom of the wing to prevent a future puncture. That was simply too expensive (not to mention deleterious to its performance) on an airplane that had a dozen models flying. Interestingly, the airplane was profitable for BA, but a net loss for Air France, who kept it flying out of pride.
So, it was retired. Still a marvel of engineering. Still a marvel of performance.