Why can't my class see an array on the timeline? - actionscript-3

Question

I have a class that controls an enemy. From within that class, it checks for collisions with an array on the main timeline. I've done it this way before and it works fine, so I have no idea what I've done wrong this time. It keeps giving me an
ReferenceError: Error #1069: Property
bulletArray not found on
flash.display.Stage and there is no
default value.
error from within the enemy class.
Here's my code (shortened to remove the unimportant parts):
On timeline:
var bulletArray:Array = new Array();
function shoot(e:TimerEvent)
{
var bullet:MovieClip = new Bullet(player.rotation);
bullet.x = player.x;
bullet.y = player.y;
bulletArray.push(bullet);
stage.addChild(bullet);
}
In class:
private var thisParent:*;
thisParent=event.currentTarget.parent;
private function updateBeingShot()
{
for (var i=0; i<thisParent.bulletArray.length; i++) {
if (this.hitTestObject(thisParent.bulletArray[i]) && thisParent.bulletArray[i] != null) {
health--;
thisParent.bulletArray[i].removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, thisParent.bulletArray[i].enterFrameHandler);
thisParent.removeChild(thisParent.bulletArray[i]);
thisParent.bulletArray.splice(i,1);
}
}
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Answer 1

My guess is that event.currentTarget is the instance where you declared the bulletArray variable. Using event.currentTarget.parent will refer to stage outside your scope. I don´t know how you declare the listeners. Try using event.target instead of event.currentTarget and see if you get the same error.
My advice is that you put all your code in a class.

Answer 2

If you are going to do it this way you need to pass in a reference to the timeline.
private var _timeline:Object;
// constructor
public function YourClass(timeline:Object) {
_timeline = timeline;
}
private function updateBeginShot() {
// ..
trace(_timeline.bulletArray); // outputs [array contents]
// ..
}