It's possible M. Arslanian never saw the 1979 memo prior to the 2000 accident, it being 21 years old by then. More importantly the 1979 memo is clearly referring to an investigation in progress (presumably by the NTSB) that was later completed and published resulting in modifications that were thought to minimise or remedy the risks from a burst tyre. He's well within his rights to say what he's saying because the modifications to equipment and procedures over the intervening years were expected to have all but eliminated the risk of fire from a tyre burst.
I should have pointed out in my previous post that all Concorde tyre debris-related incidents between 1979 and early 2000 resulted in the same type of external piercing damage which was not considered to present a significant fire hazard. I reiterate - the one and only time the damage caused a burst from inside and a significant fuel leak was the F-BTSC accident.
To borrow a phrase from Bill Clinton, "There's no 'there' there".
Last edited by DozyWannabe; 22nd Dec 2012 at 23:52.