CASA Briefing newsletter - April 2011

[Admin]

April 2011

 

From the Director of Aviation Safety

 

John McCormick

 

For more than a decade, progress on reviewing and updating Australia's aviation safety regulations has not been satisfactory. While about half of the regulations have been updated and included in the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, key areas did not move ahead as planned. Right now, however, everyone is seeing solid progress in getting new rules in place for central parts of the regulations. The latest step forward is the release of the draft general operating and flight rules – Part 91 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. There is more detail on these draft rules in an item below. I would like to urge everyone in aviation to look at the draft and provide comments to CASA as the proposed rules do not just affect private and professional pilots. Aircraft owners, maintainers, cabin crew, loading personnel, refuelers, air display organisers and air traffic contollers all need to understand what the new rules will look like and how they might impact on their area of operations. The good news is that the proposed general operating and flight rules are not a radical departure from the existing regulations, although there are changes where it was clear that safety could be improved.

 

While we are in the process of finalising the operating rules, a lot of work is being undertaken to smoothly implement the maintenance suite of new regulations. Seminars have been held across the nation and the response from licensed aircraft maintenance engineers and other maintenance personnel has been very pleasing. At some seminars hundreds of people have turned up to listen, learn and ask questions. For the most part people have not been critical of the new maintenance regulations, although naturally there are some people with issues about specific areas and we are doing our best to address these concerns. If you have not been able to attend a seminar please make sure you go to CASA's web site and complete the e-learning tutorials, which will give you a solid overview of the changes.

 

One lesson we have learnt while issuing invitations for the seminars is that not everyone has provided CASA with a current email address. People have complained they were not aware of a seminar, even though we sent an email to the address provided by them to CASA. Please make sure you check to see if CASA has the right email address for you. We will do our best to let you know by email and other means about the issues that affect you, but we need you to give us the right and up-to-date contact information. You can update your contact details using the on-line self service portal.

 

Best regards

 

John F McCormick

 

Your last chance to comment on new operational rules

 

A new draft set of general operating and flight rules have been released by CASA, with the aviation industry being asked to provide feedback. The detailed set of draft rules covers most aviation operations in Australia and will form the complete set of operating rules for private flights when it is adopted. It consolidates and retains most existing operating rules, although there are some proposed new requirements and the way the rules are presented is different. The proposed set of rules will form Part 91 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. As well as setting out the operational safety requirements for private flights, Part 91 establishes 'baseline' requirements for aircraft used in passenger transport and aerial work. Additional safety requirements for these operations will be included in other Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. A covering note for the draft of Part 91 sets out the key issues in the recently released document. It says: "The requirements of Part 91 form the basis for safe aviation operations in a similar manner to the 'rules of the road'. These rules are not repeated in other operational Civil Aviation Safety Regulations so all pilots must become familiar with the Part 91 regulations, regardless of the operations in which they are involved."

 

The new operating rules have been subject to extensive consultation with the aviation industry, with earlier drafts released for comment and then reviewed. The current draft set of rules will be the last chance for comment before the new regulations are introduced. There will be extensive education and training provided by CASA for the aviation industry before the new Part 91 is implemented. Although there are not many substantial changes to the current rules, safety will be improved by a range of new requirements. These include introducing a new minimum height rule similar to the United States requirement, provisions covering fitness of crew members for duty, a requirement for a risk briefing for passengers on non-transport flights, performance and crew training requirements for larger helicopters and requirements about in-flight fuel management.

 

Find out more about the draft operating rules and submit comments before 13 May 2011.

 

Strong support for move to new maintenance rules

 

Air operators and maintenance organisations required to move across over the next two years to the new maintenance regulations will be given a high level of support from CASA. CASA is planning to take a case management approach to supporting the transition to the new rules. This means CASA's airworthiness inspectors and other staff will work with organisations to explain what is required and help those organisations to find the best ways to achieve compliance. In total about 200 aviation maintenance organisations and 32 air operators will be moving to the new maintenance requirements set out in Parts 42 and 145 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. The new rules only apply to regular public transport air operators and maintenance organisations that maintain regular public transport aircraft or components. The existing maintenance regulations will continue to apply to other sectors such as charter, aerial work and private operations. These rules will be revised at a later date after wide consultation with the aviation industry.

 

CASA personnel have already started to contact air operators and maintenance organisations affected by the new rules to plan their transition. These organisations will be required to develop an exposition setting out the processes, procedures and systems they intend to use to manage their operational risks and meet their obligations under the new regulations. CASA will provide guidance on developing expositions, as well as assessing the documents. It is expected CASA will spend more than 11,000 days working with air operators and maintenance organisations that are moving to the new rules. There will be a strong emphasis within CASA on ensuring a consistent and standard approach is taken to the transition.

 

Find out more about the new maintenance regulations.

 

Famous ditching supports new cabin crew numbers

 

The successful ditching of an A320 aircraft in the Hudson River at New York in 2009 has been cited to support a proposed change to cabin crew numbers in a range of Australian passenger aircraft. The investigation into the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 shows properly planned and executed emergency procedures can be delivered in an unanticipated emergency with a ratio of one cabin crew member for every 50 passenger seats. CASA has referred to the famous Hudson River ditching in a submission to a Parliamentary inquiry into the ratio of cabin crew on Australian aircraft. Under current regulations Australian domestic operators are required to carry one cabin crew member for every 36 passenger seats on aircraft capable of carrying between 15 and 216 passenger seats. CASA has proposed moving to the one to 50 cabin crew ratio for aircraft carrying between 20 and 216 passengers. In its submission CASA says the Hudson River ditching investigation also supports the need for the even distribution of cabin crew throughout the aircraft and the importance of delivering safety information effectively.

 

The Australian requirement for one cabin crew member for every 36 passenger seats has been in existence for over 50 years. "This ratio was developed from a cabin seating configuration most probably based on the original Fokker Friendship seating configurations," CASA says in its submission. "As new aircraft types were introduced at the dawn of the jet age, cabin crew numbers were determined by simple division and rounding up of the number of passengers carried, to arrive at the required cabin crew assignment." CASA says Australia and Canada are the only members of the International Civil Aviation Organization that do not routinely use the one to 50 ratio. Both Australia and Canada do, however, authorise one to 50 operations, with 13 Australian air operators approved to operate at this ratio.

 

Read CASA's submission to the House of Representatives Infrastructure and Communications Committee inquiry into the ratio of cabin crew members on aircraft.

 

Help to create the best safety manuals

 

Air operators are to be given improved and up-to-date guidance on how to develop their operations manuals. Under the regulations holders of air operator's certificates are required to have an operations manual that sets out information, procedures and instructions on how aircraft will be operated safely by the organisation and its personnel. To assist air operators in developing their operations manuals CASA produced a Civil Aviation Advisory Publication, which was last updated in 1997. CASA has recognised this advisory publication is now out of date and needs revising. To achieve this CASA has established a new project to produce a modern guide on the preparation of operations manuals.

 

The updated guide to developing operations manuals will take into account the new regulations being developed covering air operator's certificates. Work is underway on drafting Part 119 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, which relates to air operator's certificates for Australian operators. This will make a number of changes to the requirements for operations manuals. By updating the guidance material now CASA will equip the aviation industry with advice that will prepare for the transition to the new regulations, while also improving the quality of new manuals. It will also mean air operators who have used the new guidance material to develop operations manuals will have less work to do when making the transition to the new Part 119.

 

Find out more about the operations manuals project.

 

Keeping your aircraft flame resistant

 

Updated advice is now available on the flammability requirements for aircraft. Owners, operators and maintainers of aircraft need to be aware of the flammability standards for their aircraft type when repairing or replacing interior materials. This includes interior panelling, floor coverings, seat cushions, seat belts, curtains, padding and cargo liners. The revised airworthiness bulletin provides information on the flammability requirements in different aircraft categories, describes methods to show compliance with requirements and highlights some typical issues which may arise during interior repairs or replacements. The information is set out in an easy to follow question and answer format.

 

The minimum flammability requirement for light aeroplanes is for materials to be flame resistant, which means they are not susceptible to combustion after a fire ignition source is removed. Transport category aircraft must meet higher flammability standards. When carrying out interior repairs or replacements there are three ways to make sure the applicable flammability requirement is met. The easiest way is to ensure all repairs and replacements are done in accordance with approved data from the manufacturer. If this is not done, materials that have been already been flammability tested must be obtained from an approved supplier or samples of materials to be used in an aircraft must be tested for flammability.

 

Read the aircraft interior flammability airworthiness bulletin.

 

R44 flight control warning

 

Operators and maintainers of R44 helicopters with hydraulically assisted flight controls have been told to urgently inspect their aircraft's flight control system. This follows the preliminary results of an investigation into a fatal R44 accident at Cessnock in February 2011. Two people were killed when an instructor flying the helicopter lost control, colliding with the runway at a steep bank. The helicopter caught on fire after the collision. Examination of the wreckage by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) identified that a bolt securing part of the flight control system had detached, causing an immediate loss of control. The bolt that detached retains the lower flight control push-pull tube to the left-front hydraulic-boost servo. Both the ATSB and CASA have recommended inspections be carried out on all hydraulically equipped R44 aircraft. An airworthiness bulletin states: "CASA strongly recommends that all R44 operators and maintainers inspect and confirm the security of the aircraft's flight control system bolts, clevises, rod ends etc in the flight control linkages, particularly those associated with the hydraulic boost servos, as soon as possible". Any defects should be reported to both CASA and the ATSB.

 

Read the R44 airworthiness bulletin.

 

Nine safety seminars for pilots

 

Safety education for pilots will be underway at nine locations across Australia during May 2011. The popular AvSafety seminars will be held at Albury, Scone, Kyneton, Moorabbin, Murray Bridge, Narrogin, Kununurra, Derby and Victoria River Downs. Seminars are held during the early evenings to allow pilots to attend after work and refreshments will be provided. Topics to be covered in the May AvSafety seminars include runway incursions, avoiding airspace infringements and operations at non-towered aerodromes. All seminars include time for pilots to ask questions and raise issues with CASA's safety advisers. Pilots of all levels of experience will benefit from attending the seminars.

 

Get the details of the May AvSafety seminars.

 

Pilots rush new flight planning kit

 

The just launched visual flight rules planning kit for pilots has already proved to be a hit. Hundreds of the new kits have been ordered and they are still flying off the shelves. The kit assists pilots operating to the visual flight rules with the safety critical task of flight planning. It covers all eight stages of flights, as well as providing guidance on how to set personal minimums and the use of global positioning systems (GPS). The kit includes manoeuvring maps for Archerfield, Bankstown, Camden, Moorabbin, Parafield and Jandakot aerodromes. There is also a flight planning notepad, kneeboard, personal minimums card, a time in your tanks card and a pad of fuel calculation sheets. The eight phases of flight covered in the 28 page flight planning handbook are planning, pre-flight, pre-departure, post departure or climb, en route, pre-approach or descent, approach and landing. The flight planning kit is free, with a $15 delivery fee.

 

Order your new flight planning kit now.

 

Disabled pilots mark a first in Australian aviation

 

A first in Australian aviation was recorded last month when a fly-in for disabled pilots was held at Deniliquin. Eighteen disabled pilots, operating nine aircraft, took part in the weekend fly-in. The event brought together student pilots, an airline 737 pilot who is an amputee and a paraplegic with 1500hrs mainly mustering cattle. Deniliquin pilot David McPherson, who has been a paraplegic since a car accident at the age of eight, was the event organiser. "The weekend was a great opportunity to get together like minded pilots to not only talk aviation but to discuss issues related to disabled flying," Mr McPherson said. "Different hand controls in use in Australia and those overseas were viewed and discussed as well as the various aircraft modifications and different techniques for getting in and out of an aircraft."

 

CASA's Dr Pooshan Navathe, principal medical officer, gave a presentation on the approach taken to assessing the ability of disabled people to fly. "With pilots who have a disability, getting their medical certificate is usually their biggest barrier to being able to fly," Dr Navathe said. "I explained how we go about assessing disability and also the need for us to assess associated medical conditions which can provide a further layer of complexity to the assessment process. It is a case of not only providing medical clearance to fly but also looking at the required modifications to aircraft, as we need to have confidence these pilots are able to cope with the physical demands of flying. I am filled with the utmost admiration for these pilots and fully understand their desire to fly and the frustrations they can sometimes face."

 

Find out more about disabled flying from the Disabled Pilots Association.

 

We get ready to take our first graduates

 

CASA's first intake of aviation university graduates are scheduled to start with the regulator in the middle of 2011. Six people with undergraduate qualifications in aviation management and engineering will work with CASA for two years as part of a new graduate development program. The successful graduates will be given work experience in a number of areas within CASA, including in regional offices. They will work directly with experts in a range of aviation fields and will be involved in research projects. There will also be opportunities to undertake regulatory, technical and professional development programs. It is planned to base four of the graduates in the Operations division in Brisbane and two in Canberra with the Standards Development and Future Technology division. CASA has been attending university career fairs during the first months of 2011 to showcase the aviation graduate program to students, with a high level of interest being shown on all campuses.

 

Find out more information on CASA's graduate program.