SASless,
Even more interesting is that the S-92 was rated far superior in performance as well as safety. It went faster, farther and carried more, and hovered at higher altitudes. The S-92 cabin size was deemed entirely compliant, but inferior to the wider 101 cabin.
The supposed reason why the 101 was selected was that its schedule was judged to be 5 months better than the S-92, out of 55 months to deliver after contract signing. The head of the Navy selection committee said that the changes in the 101's fuselage to strengthen it to modern safety standards were minor strengthening (a direct quote). What he didn't say was that it would require changing the entire fuselage, every frame, because the 8 G's of forward crash strength had to be increased to 20 G's to meet the criteria that the S-92 had all along. 250% is seldom minor, unless you are a Navy engineer.
Now we see that the 101's schedule is to be delayed "months to years" because of these changes!
The inside word is that the program was a gift from Bush to Burlesconi and Blair for their support in Iraq. Note that EVERY Navy official who participated in the selection received a promotion these last several months, many directly from the White House.