It is also worth noting that the RCC on the Orbiter's leading edge is usually protected from oxidation by a layer of silicon carbide and the propensity of carbon for micro-cracking is deterred by an impregnation with tetraethyl orthosilicate. see link
here
Both of these protection's integrity would have been shattered by the impact of the icy foam stalactite that probably shattered a section of leading edge (part of which was thought to have been radar-detected in orbit floating nearby after a minor manoeuvre).
On re-entry, departure of the rest of that shattered RCC section (#6 or #7) would have inevitably started the unzippering of the RCC sections further outboard). Behind the RCC sections there is only the various Inconel alloy RCC support brackets and the aluminium flat plate of the real wing leading edge. Oblique Flat plates and hypersonic shocks being capable of many thousands of degrees hotter plasma than a normal re-entry, it's not surprising that the wheelwell was broached and eaten out by hot plasma, or that the lateral/roll control system was eventually overwhelmed.
Perhaps a sacrifical elastomeric wedge on that inboard leading edge would deflect shattering icy blows on launch and yet not affect in-atmosphere abort glide performance. I'm willing to bet that the fixes when they come will be simple and relatively straightforward.