Pre-emptive SAIB?
Has anyone ever seen a pre-emptive SAIB like this? When it was issued Feb. 5, Bell had said it had delivered two 429s. Each was undergoing completions overseen by FAA inspectors who presumably are familiar with rotorcraft airworthiness regs and know how to approve STCs. One hopes they would address occupant egress through aft clamshell doors. Whole thing seems strange. FAA keeps saying its got an overworked staff and too small a budget. Why spend precious time and money issuing a public notice about something already being surveilled by FAA inspectors? If FAA had an egress concern, couldn't the head of rotorcraft or overall aircraft certification direct his/her staff to monitor it in issuing STCs? What was the purpose or payoff in issuing a public bulletin? Does an FAA inspector really need an SAIB in his back pocket to give him the juice to do his job in the field?
As for "addressing the baggage area as an occupied area," the 429s I've seen have a continuous space from the pedals to the aft wall of the cabin structure. Why wouldn't that entire space be cleared as occupied space? After all, the aircraft was designed from the start as an EMS bird.