A colleague has a bit of insight on the Fairchild Dornier 728 debacle. He says configuration control was out of control, and the plane that rolled out was uncertifiable because no one knew (down at the detail level) what was in it.
The central database was a shambles.
Bloody shame - they tried to sell this fine-looking ship to the Chinese, or maybe Russia, but it was just too big a risk for any sane venturemonger to take on.