U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators believe the breakdown of a General Electric GEnx-1B engine on a taxiing Boeing 787 July 28 stemmed from the failure of a fan mid-shaft.

FAA could seek a record $162.4 million in civil penalties from AMR Corp., according to filings at the bankruptcy court overseeing AMR’s Chapter 11 case. Both the FAA and AMR say the amount of the claims could change and reflect ongoing enforcement cases the FAA has against both American Airlines and its subsidiary, American Eagle. FAA filed the claims with the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of New York in advance of the July 12 deadline, but the documents came to light only this week. Details of the claims remain confidential, however.

As a passenger, it's evident that airlines are doing a much better job at managing their capacity. It's rare to find an empty seat next to you. Frequent fliers also know many airlines offer ancillary services—from onboard food to checked baggage—for a fee. New revenue streams are visible. What is invisible to passengers is that airlines also are getting smarter about managing life-cycle costs.

A J Walter Aviation has signed a purchase agreement to buy Aveos’s former component maintenance business and plans to establish the insolvent Canadian company’s Montreal facility as its new component maintenance, repair and overhaul headquarters.

Delta TechOps is pushing a raft of new engine overhaul and repair technology

Delta Air Lines' plan to purchase its own oil refinery in Philadelphia is advancing. “We expect to have the refinery up and running in mid-2013. We are in the process of making capital investments, and we expect returns in 2013-–not huge, but it’s a start,” Delta TechOps Engine and Component Maintenance Managing Director David Garrison said yesterday at the Joint Propulsion Conference in Atlanta. The refinery will be operated for Delta by BP and has the capacity to refine 185,000 barrels per day of which 15,000 barrels will be jet fuel.

Airbus has delayed by about three months the A350’s entry into service (EIS) as it addresses problems with automated drilling for the aircraft’s wings. The delay pushes the A350-900 variant’s EIS into the second half of 2014, parent company EADS said July 27 in a statement discussing its first-half financial results. Because of this, EADS incurred a €124 million ($152.6 million) charge in the second quarter of 2012.

National Air Transportation Association selected Thomas Hendricks as its new president, succeeding James Coyne, who has been NATA’s president since 1994.