New information from some one on the ground at BLR at the time:

To my mind, this means it was a simple "put panel in hole, do up fasteners" job.

Would a fully secured panel ripping off in flight really do so little damage, that a replacement would be refitted without any apparent hassle?

I get the impression that it would leave torn off pieces of itself behind, as well was buckled fastener anchors, torn holes where the fasteners attach to the structure, etc. All of which not shown in the picture and certainly not compatible with simply offering up the replacement and fastening it up within 1.5 hours.

But that's just my laymen's observation.

The latest on the "panel" - ATW today -http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_10_16_2013_p0-627548.xml

Found within the perimeter of the airport.

In other words, it could not has been very secure in the first place :ugh:

But what the Indian authorities are saying makes no sense.
The panel is held on with screw fasteners. Not rivets. Else you'd have to drill them out each time you wanted to check the PACKs.
So why are they saying it fell off due to a riveting fault?

Do they want to try and blame Boeing so they can claim innocence and more compensation money?

It's not often that you come across the words "latest" and "Aviation Week" in the same sentence. :O

"a riveting flaw in the panel covering the heat exchanger unit could have caused the panel to detach from the fuselage"

Riveting stuff, indeed.

Someone will be really regretting releasing the picture of the hole showing no damage and no broken rivets or fasteners. Without that picture many posts here would be blaming Boeing.

I wonder if someone finding the panel in the hangar could have decided that a quick ride around the perimeter road to 'drop it off' was a good idea?

From what my Indian friend tells me about how businesses go about their business in India, that would not surprise me in the slightest!

Corruption, extortion and lies are acceptable business practices in India! :rolleyes:

How much longer can Boeing respect norms of confidentiality of comms between them and their customer, one wonders? They must be seething...

Perhaps not Boeing's fault after all:

AI blames engineer for Dreamliner panel fall, suspends him

Engineer suspended for panel falling off Air India's Dreamliner | Firstpost

well - what a surprise!
 

I guess I should be printing up some more PPRuNe "I told you so" T-shirts? But still the press add on the "latest setback after batteries and fires" tag followed by this little gem:
.

All getting very confusing! Where exactly was the panel found?
a) In an engineering office
b) On Delhi airport's runway
c) On Bangalore' runway?

Yes, BOAC sums up the confusion perfectly. Quote from Firstpost:
This official also said though the incident was regrettable, it never had “any safety implications since the panel fell off when the aircraft had already landed on the runway.
(my emphasis).

If enough Dzus fasteners had been secured to hold the panel on for the flight (say, one at each corner), what sort of landing would cause it to fall off?

An Air India one ? :O

But, joking aside, I still don't buy this "fell off, but without causing any collateral damage to the aircraft" nonsense.

Without knowing how rigid the panel is (and its weight), it's hard to say how many engaged fasteners (out of the 30 or so) would have been sufficient to hold it on without sagging halfway along the long edge - more than 4, I would suggest.

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/thumb...ode-4/hole.jpg

And of course the alternative scenario - that it wasn't refitted at all after maintenance, and missed on the walkaround - might simply mean that the F/O, unlike the poor engineer, is better connected and knows where some of the bodies are buried.

Too right, so where was it found? If I had to guess (which in light of all the confusion is as good a way as any) I'm going for Delhi with a combination of BOAC's option (a) 'engineering office' and Ian W's 'quick ride around the perimeter road to drop it off'!

Edit - If it was found at Bangalore, would it be crazy to suggest, given this was reportedly found during the prep for the onward flight, that someone removed it at Bangalore for whatever reason, went for a cup of chi tea and then someone else moved the airplane and spotted it....Nooo, that couldn't happen....

Should be fairly easy to establish the 'office' conspiracy - is it bent, buckled and scarped or not?

You're kidding, of course - if the panel is in pristine condition, there's no way we're ever going to be allowed to see a photo of it.

Conversely, if it is bashed about..........................(will there be frantic hammering and 'bashing' noises:))

Was there a post saying it was to be fitted to the 'robbed' 787? Cannot be that badly damaged, then.

They cannibalised a newly delivered but not in service 787 in DEL to replace the 'missing' part and the original aircraft went back into service. So the frame is definitely not damaged. Even more confusing.

My guess is some ramp rat at the destination airport saw the missing panel, got the wrong idea took a photo and sold it to the local rag. Reporter then makes up his/her own story.

Presto: Media frenzy.

Some speculations.... http://christinenegroni.********.co....actory-in.html

Disappointingly sloppy journalism from the usually reliable Negroni.

Whatever the final facts that emerge from this sorry tale, the one place that the smoking gun isn't to be found (this time) is at Boeing.