This metal strip is a “wear strip”, it should have been made from stainless steel but was however
made from titanium which is much stronger. A “wear strip” is a sacrificial metal strip that protects
an edge on an aircraft; it is designed to be worn away with friction.
This titanium strip was a replacement part on a Continental Airways DC-10 aircraft. It was also not
properly installed. The strip fell off the DC10 onto the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of
Paris on July 25, 2000.