CASA Briefing newsletter - July 2011

[Admin]

July 2011

 

From the Director of Aviation Safety

 

John McCormick

 

The extraordinary action CASA took to suspend the operations of Tiger Airways Australia early in July has been the focus of much debate in the media and the general community. I am pleased to say the vast majority of people have supported CASA's actions, although naturally there have been people disappointed and inconvenienced by the disruption to their travel plans. It was very pleasing to see the other major airlines move quickly to assist stranded passengers and I thank them for taking those steps. The decision to suspend the operations of Tiger Airways was taken under the provisions of Division 3A of the Civil Aviation Act. This part of the Act sets out the actions CASA can take if it believes there is a serious and imminent risk to air safety. Section 30DB says: "the holder of a civil aviation authorisation must not engage in conduct that constitutes, contributes to or results in a serious and imminent risk to air safety". Where CASA has reason to believe the holder of an authorisation has engaged in, is engaging in, or is likely to engage in conduct that contravenes this section of the Act, CASA may suspend the authorisation by giving a written notice.

 

CASA came to the view that in the interests of air safety it was necessary to suspend Tiger Airway's air operator's certificate on Friday 1 July 2011, and a written notice was served that night. This was not a decision taken lightly and it was based on a careful assessment of a wide range of information before CASA at the time. In March 2011, CASA issued Tiger Airways with a show cause notice and, on the basis of a CASA decision in June 2011, conditions were placed on Tiger's air operator's certificate. After these actions were taken further incidents occurred that raised concerns about Tiger's ability to operate safely. In the end, CASA lost confidence in Tiger's ability to satisfactorily fulfil its safety-related obligations and to conduct its operations without posing a serious and imminent risk to safety, compelling us to issue the suspension notice. Taking this action did not give me, or indeed anyone in CASA, any pleasure as it is our goal to see a safe and vibrant aviation industry at all times. However, in the interests of the travelling public and the general community stern action was required to ensure essential safety standards within the airline are maintained.

 

A lot of work has been undertaken throughout the last three weeks to investigate the incidents that precipitated the suspension of Tiger and to determine the actions the airline must take to improve its safety performance. At the time I write this, it is CASA's intention to complete its investigation by or before 1 August 2011 and, in accordance with the provisions of Division 3A of the Civil Aviation Act, either to take action to have the suspension lifted, or to take other and further action as may be necessary in the interests of safety. Tiger has co-operated with CASA during our investigation and has said publicly they are committed to getting their airline back in the skies. I certainly look forward to seeing Tiger flying again, and can assure the travelling public that the resumption of operations by the airline will occur only when it is demonstrably safe for them to do so.

 

Best regards

 

John F McCormick

 

New standards and guidance on the way for electronic flight bags

 

CASA is looking to develop new guidance material for pilots, as well as standards for air transport operators, on the use of portable electronic flight bags during flights. For air transport operators the standards will address the requirements for operational approvals for the use of portable electronic flight bags. The need for guidance material and standards is being driven by the rapid growth of purpose designed aviation software for electronic tablets, such as the Apple Ipad, that could enable these devices to be used as electronic flight bags. The issue has been identified at the global level with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) having recently reconvened an electronic flight bag working group. ICAO has recognised that current standards and recommended practices, as well as guidance material, on electronic flight bags are being made obsolete by new tablet technology. CASA is playing a key role in the ICAO working group, having recently taken part in a meeting at ICAO headquarters in Montreal. The ICAO working group is aiming to have new high-level standards and recommended practices developed for electronic flight bags by mid 2012.

 

A number of safety issues have already been identified in relation to the widespread use of electronic flight bags. In the first instance the pace of evolving technology makes the development of new standards and guidance material a challenge. Data connectivity between portable devices and aircraft systems must also be addressed. In addition, there is a need for software assurance and operator quality control systems to manage the integrity of safety critical navigational and performance data. While electronic flight bags have obvious value in the cockpit, human factors issues must be examined. There is a risk of information overload for pilots, which can divert attention away from the fundamental tasks of flying.

 

Maintenance transition running smoothly

 

The implementation of the new maintenance suite of regulations is continuing smoothly. On 27 June 2011 the new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations Parts 66, 42, 145 and 147 came into effect. Under the new Part 66 regulations more than 7000 licensed aircraft maintenance engineers (LAMEs) have been issued new licences, with existing licence privileges being retained. CASA continues to answer questions and address any issues raised by LAMEs about their new licences, although the rate of enquiries has dropped considerably. Work on the transition of regular public transport operators and maintenance organisations affected by the new rules has also now begun. The new regulations only apply to operators of regular public transport aircraft, as well as maintainers of those aircraft and their aeronautical products. In total 240 aviation organisations will need to move their operations under Parts 42 and 145 over the next two years. Currently, 36 aviation organisations have begun the process of transition to the new rules, with a total of 49 scheduled for transition between July and December 2011. Work on the transition of the first maintenance training organisation to Part 147 has commenced. Maintenance training organisations have two years to transition to the new Part 147 regulations. Information on the new maintenance regulations on CASA's web site continues to be updated, with new Part 66 licensing frequently asked questions and answers now available. Any LAMEs who need to resolve discrepancies with their new licences should use a special form on the website.

 

Learn all about the new maintenance suite of regulations.

 

Access the LAME licence discrepancy form.

 

Full explanation of sport and recreational rule changes

 

A detailed explanation of the changes that have been made to a range of rules covering sport and recreational aviation operations has been released. CASA has issued a notice of final rule making covering the changes made in April 2011 to eight Civil Aviation Orders in the 95 series. The changes allowed the early implementation of policies developed by CASA and sport and recreational aviation groups over a number of years. It had been hoped to introduce the changes in the new Part 103 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, however this part has been delayed due to legal drafting priorities. People and organisations in the sport and recreational sector had given strong support to the proposed rule changes and CASA received a number of requests to introduce the reforms as soon as possible. Amending eight Civil Aviation Orders in the 95 series was achieved more quickly as legal drafting for these types of amendments can be done by CASA's in-house legal team. By making changes to the Civil Aviation Order the need for a range of personal and group exemption instruments was removed, reducing the regulatory burden on the sport and recreational sector and CASA.

 

The changes to the rules cover the operations of gliders and powered sailplanes, hang gliders and paragliders, low momentum ultralights, single place privately built gyroplanes, two place gyroplanes, weight shift aeroplanes and powered parachutes, manned balloons and hot air ships. They also apply to single and two place aeroplanes registered with Recreational Aviation Australia. The existing policy that requires pilots flying sport and recreational aircraft in controlled airspace to hold a CASA issued pilot licence and medical is unchanged. Similarly, the current policy which prohibits aircraft registered with Recreational Aviation Australia doing aerobatics continues. Aircraft categories with a previous altitude limitation of 5000 feet can now operate up to 10,000 feet.

 

Find out more about the sport recreational rule changes.

 

Better guidelines for warbirds, historic and experimental aircraft

 

An overhaul of the formal advice CASA provides to the owners and operators of limited category and experimental aircraft is now under way. The limited category covers the operation of warbirds, as well as historic and replica aircraft. Experimental aircraft are amateur built, being fabricated and assembled by a person for their own education or recreation. CASA has set up a project to improve guidance for these aircraft in four key areas. They are maintenance requirements, flight over built up areas, the limited category permit index and passenger warning requirements. Currently the advisory material published on these issues is not adequate and up-to-date.

 

A new advisory circular will be developed to draw together all the maintenance requirements for amateur built experimental aircraft. There will be a requirement for an authorised person to be involved in the building of an experimental aircraft from start to finish to ensure the builder has constructed the major part of the aircraft and thus acquired the necessary skills to maintain the aircraft. A set of parameters and procedures will be introduced for the assessment of applications to fly experimental aircraft over built-up areas. Experimental aircraft must not fly over built-up areas unless authorised by CASA. Procedures to assess applications to do this are currently unstructured. A new advisory circular will also be developed to introduce extra risk assessment protocols for the issue of limited category aircraft permit index numbers. The permit index is a way of assessing the risk to third parties of the operation of limited category aircraft and imposes restrictions to minimise those risks. The fourth change to advisory material will ensure the requirements for warnings to be given to passengers in limited category aircraft conform to the civil aviation regulations.

 

Find out more about the limited category and experimental aircraft project.

 

Updated advice on volcanic ash dangers

 

Detailed advice to the aviation industry on operations during volcanic ash events has just been updated. A new airworthiness bulletin provides an overview of CASA's recommendations on operations into or near airspace known or suspected of being contaminated with volcanic ash, or at aerodromes with runway volcanic ash contamination. Included is information and recommendations from the latest draft International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidance material on flight during volcanic ash events. The information sets out a formalised risk assessment process for the use of air operators who decide to fly during ash events. This process has been developed by the ICAO international volcanic ash task force. The airworthiness bulletin explains the dangers volcanic ash poses to aircraft, warning it can be very damaging to structures, cockpit windows and engines. If aircraft are flown near ash they should be checked daily for any accumulation of ash, engine damage and damage to structures, systems, filters and other equipment.

 

Air operators are responsible for assessing the risk of ash to their flights and for determining and implementing appropriate risk mitigation measures. CASA recommends a safety risk assessment process is conducted. It is recommended flights do not operate into airspace where there is visible volcanic ash cloud as it is likely that in a short space of time aircraft will be damaged. Where known or forecast ash contamination levels can be measured with an acceptable level of accuracy, flights may operate into low level contamination, but only after a safety risk assessment is carried out. It is recommended that flights do not operate into areas of medium or high level contamination.

 

Read the volcanic ash airworthiness bulletin.

 

Baggage compartment fire warning

 

Aircraft owners and operators are being warned of the dangers of baggage compartment fires. In Australia and overseas there have been reports of smoke and fires caused by baggage compartment lights igniting baggage or cargo being carried on the aircraft. In the United States a baggage fire caused an aircraft to crash, killing the two crew on board. Under the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations it is a requirement for lights in cargo or baggage compartments to be protected against accidental damage and to be insulated so baggage near lights is not subject to excessive heat. This requirement is set out in the additional airworthiness requirements in Part 90 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, which was amended in December 2010. In new advice CASA says the object of the requirement is to ensure baggage compartment lights do not provide a source of ignition by being unprotected or unshielded from contact with any baggage. The requirement can be satisfied in a variety of ways including ambient temperature lights, recessed lights or metal grills/shields covering the baggage compartment lights.

 

Read the baggage compartment safety airworthiness bulletin.

 

New system to manage airworthiness delegates

 

A new on-line system has been launched to accurately track the work being done by people in the aviation industry who hold airworthiness delegations from CASA. The new system means CASA can build a comprehensive and timely picture of the work undertaken by airworthiness delegates, allowing better support for the people who hold delegations and improved safety monitoring. Delegates are appropriately qualified people working in the aviation industry who CASA has given the authorisation to exercise specific powers and functions. Airworthiness delegates provide regulatory services such as issuing certificates of airworthiness. From 1 July 2011 these delegates must now log information about all the services they provide to the aviation industry into a new on-line system known as the Delegate Management Notification System. When a delegate agrees to a job which involves exercising their CASA powers they must log in to the system and create a new record showing details of the job. When the task is completed the record must be finalised. CASA will use this data to track the volume and nature of delegate activity. It will allow CASA to identify safety trends and risks, better target delegate training, focus safety surveillance and make objective decisions on the need for new or existing delegate appointments.

 

Find out more about the new delegate management notification system.

 

Calling all pilots – get to a local safety seminar

 

Pilots at 17 locations across the nation have the opportunity to improve their safe flying skills during August 2011. CASA's aviation safety advisors are holding AvSafety seminars in five states and both territories. Safety issues being addressed at the seminars will vary across the locations, including pre-flight decision making, weather to fly, airmanship, fuel management, situational awareness, pilot maintenance and operations at non-towered aerodromes. The Avsafety seminars are usually held in conjunction with the local aero or flying club and topics are chosen to meet the needs of the local flying community. Each seminar includes plenty of time for local pilots to quiz CASA about regulatory issues and the latest changes in rules and standards, as well as to talk about regional safety and operational issues. They are a great chance to provide feedback to CASA on all regulatory and safety issues.

 

Find the location of the Avsafety seminars during August.

 

CD document service no longer needed

 

For a number of years CASA offered a CD-ROM document library to the aviation industry. The CD contained the aviation legislation and other information such as airworthiness bulletins and manuals and forms. It was updated several times a year. Recently CASA surveyed users of the CD document library to find out how the service was used and its continuing usefulness. Feedback from users has shown that the service is no longer needed by the aviation industry, so the CD document library will be discontinued. All the aviation legislation and supporting material is freely available on the internet and can be accessed through CASA's web site. The aviation legislation itself resides on the official Commonwealth legislation web site, Comlaw, but can be found by using links on the CASA web site under the ‘regulations and policy' button on the front page. All of CASA's manuals and forms are on CASA's web site. There is no cost for accessing any of this information on-line. Some of the aviation legislation can also be obtained in paper copies from the Airservices Australia on-line store. The store can be contacted by ringing 1300 306 630 or at www.airservicesaustralia.com/store Pro-rata refunds will be provided to subscribers who made payments receipted by CASA, after the July 2010 and full refunds will be provided to subscribers who made payments receipted by CASA after October 2010.

 

Big improvements to three NSW aerodromes

 

Three NSW mid-north coast aerodromes are being upgraded following the allocation of funding in this year's Federal Budget. A total of $19 million is being spent to improve Port Macquarie, Kempsey and Taree aerodromes. The main runway at Port Macquarie will be extended and strengthened to cater for aircraft up to the B737-800 and A320. At Kempsey and Taree the first stage of construction of new general aviation precincts are being funded, which includes taxiways, aprons, hangar sites and access roads. The existing runway at Kempsey will also be resurfaced and car parking and the passenger terminal at Port Macquarie will be upgraded. The package of improvements is being made under the NSW mid-north coast regional aviation plan, which was put together by three local councils. The Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, said the package of works was a major economic project for the region. "The Gillard Government understands the role aviation plays in connecting regional communities, as well as stimulating regional growth," Mr Albanese said.