So here's the scenario, suppose your loading an image, SWF, etc., but if any other kind of error occurs in your application, you want an error message to display above the image. There are many different ways to accomplish this task, so I thought it would be helpful to show a more unconventional technique using the Event Added.

var errorMc:MovieClip;

var assetLoader:Loader = new Loader();
	assetLoader.name = "assetLoader";
	assetLoader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener( Event.ACTIVATE, httpStatusHandler, false, 0, true );
	assetLoader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener( Event.COMPLETE, loaderCompleteHandler, false, 0, true );
	assetLoader.load( new URLRequest("http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2068/2226178289_3f9556c08f_b.jpg") );

var appStage:Stage = stage;
	appStage.addEventListener( Event.ADDED, addedHandler, false, 0, true );
	appStage.addEventListener( Event.REMOVED, removedHandler, false, 0, true );

function displayMessage( notice:* ):void
{
	errorMc = new MovieClip();
	errorMc.mouseChildren = false;
	errorMc.name = "messageMc";
	errorMc.graphics.beginFill(0x000000, 0.5);
	errorMc.graphics.drawRect( 0, 0, appStage.stageWidth, appStage.stageHeight );
	errorMc.graphics.endFill();

	var tf:TextFormat = new TextFormat();
		tf.font = "Verdana";
		tf.size = 16;
		tf.color = 0xffffff;
		tf.rightMargin = 10;
		tf.leftMargin = 10;

	var displayTxt:TextField = new TextField();
		displayTxt.width = errorMc.width;
		displayTxt.height = errorMc.height;
		displayTxt.wordWrap = true;
		displayTxt.selectable = false;
		displayTxt.text = notice.toString();
		displayTxt.setTextFormat( tf );

	errorMc.addChild( displayTxt );
	appStage.addChild( errorMc );
}

function httpStatusHandler( e:* ):void
{
	trace( e );
	displayMessage("httpStatusHandler:" + e );
}

function centerBitmap( bmp:Bitmap ):void
{
	var centerPoint:Point = new Point( appStage.stageWidth / 2, appStage.stageHeight / 2 );
	
	bmp.x = centerPoint.x - ( bmp.width / 2 );
	bmp.y = centerPoint.y - ( bmp.height / 2 );
}

function getAspectRatio( width:Number, height:Number ):Number
{
	if (width > height) 
		return ( width / height );
	else 
		return ( height / width );
}

function adjustImageSize( bmp:Bitmap ):void
{
	var aspectRatio:Number = getAspectRatio( bmp.width, bmp.height );

	if( bmp.height > bmp.width && bmp.height > appStage.stageHeight ){
		bmp.height = appStage.stageHeight;
		bmp.width = bmp.height / aspectRatio;
	} else if ( bmp.width > appStage.stageWidth ) {
		bmp.width = appStage.stageWidth;
		bmp.height = bmp.width / aspectRatio;
	}
	centerBitmap( bmp );
}

function loaderCompleteHandler( e:Event ):void
{
	var bmp:Bitmap = e.currentTarget.content
	adjustImageSize( bmp );
	appStage.addChild( e.currentTarget.loader );
}

function addedHandler( e:Event ):void
{
	if ( e.target.name == "assetLoader") {
		if ( appStage.getChildByName("messageMc") != null) {
			var error:DisplayObject = appStage.getChildByName("messageMc");
			if ( appStage.contains( error ) ) {
				appStage.swapChildren( appStage.getChildByName( e.target.name ) , error );
			}
		}
	}
}

function removedHandler( e:Event ):void {
	trace( "removedHandler: " + e.target.name );
}