Aircraft
Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
AIR-22-04
March 14, 2022
This is information only. Recommendations
aren’t mandatory.
Introduction
This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin advises owners and
operators of Thrush Aircraft, LLC S2R (see list of specific models in
“Background” section) airplanes of an airworthiness concern,
specifically the potential for the door emergency egress panels to be
extremely difficult or impossible to push out in the event of an
emergency.
At this time, the FAA has determined that the airworthiness concern is
not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD)
action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part
39.
Background
The FAA has received a report of Thrush Aircraft, LLC S2R airplanes
having had sealant applied during assembly to the emergency egress
panels located on each door. Sealant was applied to prevent water
intrusion, but has the unintended consequence of possibly preventing a
pilot or occupant from easily pushing through the panel as part of the
procedures for emergency egress stated in the airplane flight manual.
These procedures require pushing out the panel, reaching through to
pull the hinge pin, and pushing the door out.
The issue has since been corrected in manufacturing with a new egress
panel assembly. Additionally, Service Bulletin SB-AG-79, dated
01/04/2022, has been released and specifies the necessary procedures
for determining if sealant is present and replacing the existing egress
panel assembly. See Figures 1 and 2 for location and detail of the
emergency egress panel and hinge pin assemblies.
All serial numbers of the following Thrush Aircraft, LLC S2R models are
affected by this SAIB and referenced service information: S2R, S2R-T34,
S2R-T15, S2R-R3S, S2R-T11, S2R-R1340, S2R-R1820, S2R-T65, S2RHG-T65,
S2R-T45, S2R-G6, S2R-G10, S2R-G5, S2R-G1, S2RHG-T34, S2R-T660, and
S2R-H80.
Recommendations
The FAA recommends that all owners and operators of the affected
airplanes follow the actions outlined in the referenced service
bulletin at the earliest opportunity.
For Further Information Contact
Fred Caplan, Aviation Safety Engineer, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College
Park, GA 30337; phone: (404) 474-5507; e-mail:
frederick.n.caplan@faa.gov.
