It’s been a long time coming, but the first really large part of the Dreamliner 787-9 variant, a forward fuselage section, has arrived at the final assembly plant in Everett north of Seattle.

The question being asked in airline circles tonight is whether an incident in which the cowling doors blew off both engines of a British Airways Airbus A319 after taking off from Heathrow today was a result of deliberate interference with an aircraft or an appalling maintenance lapse.

A reminder of how the executive branch deals with breakdowns in public administration

For those who want it in dot points or a tiny silver screen this is what’s in or a consequence of the Senate committee inquiry into the air accident investigation (Pel-Air) report.

The Senate Committee’s inquiry into the ATSB’s handling of the Pel-Air inquiry devotes an entire chapter (3) to its dissatisfaction with the testimony of its chief commissioner Martin Dolan and the actions of the agency.

CASA’s actions in withholding from the ATSB  a document relevant to the 2009 crash of a Pel-Air Westwind jet near Norfolk Island has been referred by a Senate committee to the Federal Police.

The jobs of the chief commissioner of the ATSB, Martin Dolan, and the director of aviation safety at CASA, John McCormick, are under a cloud following detailed criticism by a Senate Committee that examined their actions in relation to the ditching of a Pel-Air jet near Norfolk Island in 2009.

The Senate committee inquiry into the Pel-Air crash report issued by the ATSB has recommended it re-open its inquiries to focus on the contributing issues it neglected, including the poor performance of CASA, Australia’s air safety regulator.

This is jet porn. American Airlines details its A321 transcontinental service, which might be what Qantas had in mind for Asia.

Virgin Australia alliance partner Etihad continues to go about building its Australia-Europe links the opposite way to Emirates with its partnership with Qantas.

What exactly was being hidden from view under the 787 tents at Boston Airport so long after the January fire and battery removal?

An incident in which a Virgin Australia 737-800 was incorrectly flown toward its cruising altitude at a fixed mach value, causing the airspeed to decline toward a loss of control situation is under investigation by the ATSB.

Is Boeing onto the next ‘big thing’ in airliners, in its incredibly tiny Manta Ray shaped test vehicle, the X-48B?

It seems that relying on Preview software to accurately display a PDF document is like using Apple Maps to find directions.

The Wall Street Journal has published deep extracts from an internal Boeing review of operational issues with its Dreamliners prior to the three month grounding orders earlier this year, and the news is pretty good.