SB can be BS

Service bulletins are sometimes more legal defense than aviation safety

Your article “Pin Placement” [Accident Probe, November] questions the pilot/owner’s non-compliance with a Beech service bulletin.

One of my former jobs was as an engineer at a major airline. One of my tasks was to review the steady stream of service bulletins that came in from the aircraft manufacturer and evaluate whether to comply fully, partially, or not at all with a particular bulletin.

Most of these bulletins had the word “Mandatory” across the top in red letters. My office was run by a stickler for safety who would stand up to any airline management for something that had a true safety impact.

We complied with relatively few of the mandatory service bulletins that came in. Th...