I would like to mention in this discussion that after recently talking to the lead AAIB investigator in the initial report, which too blamed the titanium strip, they were right with their French colleges at the BEA in agreeing that their sequence of events was correct.
After all the technical accident investigation was a joint effort. Both the AAIB and the BEA were given a hard time doing their job by the French judicial system and their parallel report (published today)
The only 2 things they disagree on were noted in the original report, the exact source of ignition. the Uk giys said it was the landing gear brake fan power leads arcing and the the way the tank failed. The French believe in the shock-wave, the UK believe an a similar model but say it may have been punctured with debris to the side of where the main failure was, therefore causing the failure.
Lets put the spacer to rest for once and for all.
Up until the point where the aircraft hit the strip, the aircraft was dead straight on the run way with no steering or rudder inputs to keep it straight has the bogie been mis-aligned. In fact if you look at the FDR trace there is a slight bit of rudder to compensate in the completely opposite direction.
When the aircraft hit the strip, the tank ruptured and the fuel caught alight. Both engines on that side then surged and had zero power output. this caused the aircraft to veer over and and clip the runway light after rotation.
None of the reports go into detail on the what ifs thats not what they do.
Had the No2 engine not been shut down, it would have in a likely hood failed in a similar way to the No1 did 60-90 seconds later due to the fire in that area killing control systems. If they had been able, with the gear down, to get enough airspeed before these both failed is very debatable. Vzrc for 2 engines with gear down was over 300knots.
Maybe they could have got enough speed up to detach the flame, but the damage it was doing was massive. Their only option was no come back to CDG - am emergency landing Le Bourget was never going to have been achievable, if the aviators amoungs us look at the flight tracks.