Information only, but it could save your life

A special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB, No. NM-05-55) was published June 2 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clarifying the steps necessary for a successful restart in case of a dual engine failure emergency on the Bombardier CL-600 regional jet.

The timing of the SAIB is fortuitous. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) holds three days of hearings starting June 13 into the Pinnacle Airlines crash involving a CL-600 regional jet from dual engine failure. There were no passengers aboard at the time; the two pilots were killed. In light of the SAIB, three questions come to mind:

1. Why was information in the SAIB not previously available in the airplane flight manual (AFM)?

2. What did the pilots in the fatal crash do differently than the information in the SAIB?

3. How is the FAA going to make sure that every operator and pilot of the CL-600 reads the information? This would more likely be accomplished if the changes to the AFM were promulgated by airworthiness directive. In this case, however, the word was passed by SAIB, which the letterhead says is "information only" and "recommendations aren't mandatory." The FAA notes on the SAIB, "We issue SAIBs to convey important safety information associated with a product's safety, but not yet determined to be unsafe and requiring an Airworthiness Directive."