CASA Briefing newsletter - May 2011

[Admin]

May 2011

 

From the Director of Aviation Safety

 

John McCormick

 

Keeping the aviation industry and the general community informed about aviation safety is one of CASA's functions. Indeed, the obligation for aviation safety communication and awareness is set out in the Civil Aviation Act. One of the early sections of the Act says a CASA safety-related function is "promoting full and effective consultation and communication with all interested parties on aviation safety issues". The Act also says CASA should provide "accurate and timely aviation safety advice" and foster awareness "of the importance of aviation safety and compliance with relevant legislation". CASA meets these obligations in many different ways using various communication channels. We have our flagship safety publication Flight Safety Australia magazine, a comprehensive web site, this newsletter, a wide range of paper-based publications, videos, CDs, posters, email notifications and face-to-face meetings, seminars and conferences.

 

From this month CASA is taking our communication efforts a further step by moving on to Twitter. We have set up a Twitter account called ‘@CASABriefing'. Using Twitter will mean that anyone with an interest in Australian aviation safety can follow the latest in news, information, safety and activities from CASA in yet another way. We will provide updates on the release of new documents, AvSafety seminars, events, new safety publications, important decisions and matters of interest to the broad aviation community. Naturally, we will not exclusively release information on Twitter, so if you can't follow CASA on Twitter you will not miss out. However, for anyone with a computer or smart phone Twitter will become an easy to use way of keeping up-to-date with the latest from CASA. As anyone who has used Twitter will know, messages must be kept short and we will link to our web site where appropriate to allow everyone to find the details they need.

 

CASA will respond where appropriate to messages sent to the @CASABriefing account, usually on the same working day. Messages sent on Twitter will be treated informally, much like a telephone conversation, so please do not use Twitter for formal purposes such as responding to consultation documents, requesting regulatory services, making a complaint or reporting safety issues. There are already well established channels for all these purposes. However, we will welcome your comments on Twitter and consider what you say. And remember, Twitter is public, so everything you post can be seen by everybody else.

 

I hope Twitter becomes a useful tool in CASA's communication with the aviation community and public and I encourage you to follow us @CASABriefing.

 

You can read our guidelines for the use of Twitter.

 

Best regards

 

John F McCormick

 

 

Questions answered on LAME licence changes

 

Have you got questions about how the new maintenance regulations affect licensed aircraft maintenance engineers (LAMEs)? Then you need to get on-line now to find the answers. An easy-to-use series of common questions and answers about LAME licences under the new maintenance regulations has been posted on CASA's web site. The questions and answers are organised into seven categories, which cover exclusions and inclusions, composites and category A, B and C licences. They address issues being raised by LAMEs about the transfer of their licences to the new Civil Aviation Safety Authority Part 66 licensing system. LAMEs have been sent a draft of their new Part 66 licence so they can make sure their current licence privileges are being accurately transferred to the new system. Any discrepancies will be corrected before the new licences are issued. LAMEs can expect to begin receiving their new licences from early June 2011. The new licences come into effect on 27 June 2011.

 

Everybody who wants to keep up to date with the maintenance personnel licensing changes should also subscribe to a new email service. CASA will send out emails when fresh information on the new system is available. This will include alerting subscribers to new documents, postings to the web site, new guidance material and other news. Subscribing means the information will come straight to your inbox as soon as it is available. The new maintenance personnel licensing system affects everyone in the aviation maintenance sector, so make sure you subscribe today.

 

Read the questions and answers for LAMEs.

 

Subscribe to the maintenance personnel licensing email service.

 

Consultation on proposed fee changes closes soon

 

Consultation on proposed changes to CASA's regulatory fees closes on Tuesday 31 May 2011. Amendments to regulatory service fees have been drafted as a result of the impending introduction of the new maintenance suite of regulations. Individuals and organisations transitioning to the new maintenance regulations will not be charged a fee where there is no change to their existing licences, certificates and other permissions. In other words, there is no charge for a ‘like for like' transition. However, if an individual or organisation seeks to add to or change their current permissions during transition this will mean additional regulatory services will need to be provided by CASA, attracting a fee. All the new fees being proposed by CASA remain at the current fee levels. Some additional fees that are now deemed collectable since the 2007 fee amendments have also been included. These items have been charged in the past using miscellaneous fee items. CASA will carefully consider feedback from the aviation industry before any changes to fees are made. As part of this consultation process CASA has prepared a draft Cost Recovery Impact Statement, explaining the proposed fee changes and their rationale. This statement is now available for review and comment. CASA continues to look for ways to improve the timeliness and efficiency of its regulatory services and is working hard to keep costs to a minimum.

 

Find out more about proposed fee changes and have your say.

 

A win for maintenance organisations

 

The aviation maintenance industry will benefit from a major overhaul of regulatory processes. CASA has introduced a new certificate of approval manual suite to clarify, streamline and standardise the process of issuing approvals for maintenance organisations. The new suite applies to approvals issued under Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR) 30. A certificate of approval is required under CAR 30 for the design, distribution or maintenance of aircraft, as well as aircraft components or materials. The new suite consists of three documents – a process manual, a handbook and application forms. It will be used for certificate of approval applications, variations, renewals and cancellations. The process manual will deliver a national standard procedure for processing certificates of approval and sets out clear steps for both the maintenance industry and CASA staff to follow. In the handbook there is information on the criteria and methods CASA uses to assess certificate of approval applications. The forms document contains both application forms and checklists for applicants. By following the checklists applicants are guided in how to provide quality submissions to CASA.

 

The maintenance industry needs to be aware CASA has also changed the process for submitting certificate of approval applications. In future all applications must be made through the CASA Permission Application Centre. This is the process which is already followed by general aviation maintenance organisations and it will now also apply to air transport maintenance organisations. By the end of June 2011 CASA’s regional offices will no longer accept certificate of approval applications. However there is no need to re-apply if your application is already with us. The certificate of approval manual suite will be updated in the future to incorporate processes for those maintenance organisations that are moving to operate under Civil Aviation Safety Regulations Part 145. This will be done once processes are fully developed, refined and validated.

 

Find out more about the certificate of approval process improvements.

 

Control cable mistakes can be deadly

 

Air operators have been alerted to the dangers of the incorrect routing of aircraft control cables. CASA has recently received a number of reports of wrongly routed control cables, which can lead to fatal consequences. In one case a rudder control cable was incorrectly routed on a Metro III aircraft. The cable was routed over the lower pulley cable pin, instead of being placed between the pulley and cable pin keeper. In 3.4 hours of flight and six landings since the mistake was made the cable had badly chaffed against the cable pin. This caused the cable strands to fray and break, with the cable only being held together by a few strands when the problem was discovered. If the rudder control cable had broken in flight the pilots would have suffered a loss of horizontal axis control of the aircraft, creating the risk of a total loss of control.

 

In a letter to all certificate of approval holders CASA's Director of Aviation Safety, John McCormick, said awareness of the risks caused by cable routing mistakes must be increased. He said air operators should discuss the matter with their engineers to make sure they were alert to the risks. It is vital that aircraft maintainers strictly follow approved maintenance data and instructions when performing tasks such as cable routing. There is also a requirement under Civil Aviation Regulation 42G for the independent inspection of maintenance carried out on flight control systems to ensure work is done correctly and certified by an appropriate person.

 

Check the details of CAR 42G.

 

Small jet rules to be made clearer

 

CASA is moving to clear up uncertainty relating to the operation of small jet aeroplanes. Currently operators and pilots of small jets must meet the weight and performance limitations set out in the Civil Aviation Orders for aeroplanes with a maximum take off weight of less than 5700 kilograms. The relevant Order – 20.7.4 – does not distinguish between jet and propeller driven aeroplanes. In addition, CASA's regional offices have not been consistent in the application of the Order, requiring some operators to adjust weight and performance information in their flight manuals. This is in fact contrary to CASA's intention of expecting Australian operators to use the approved flight manual without any unique Australian adjustments. A CASA project has now been established to address this issue by amending the relevant Civil Aviation Order so that small jets are operated in accordance with the weight and performance limitations specified in flight manuals. There are currently 22 small jets in Australia, with the number expected to grow in the future.

 

Find out more about the proposed changes to rules covering small jet operations.

 

Warning on doors opening during flight

 

A warning has been issued to general aviation operators and maintenance organisations about the dangers of aircraft doors opening during flight. The warning comes after a number of reports of doors inadvertently coming open on unpressurised aircraft, forcing them to return to base and in some cases declare an emergency. Research by Transport Canada has linked the opening of doors in flight to fatal piston engine aircraft accidents. Doors and hatches come open due to two reasons – being incorrectly closed and wear and tear of the locking mechanism that prevents proper closure.

 

In an airworthiness bulletin, CASA says aircraft operators and maintainers should take a number of actions. All doors and hatches must be inspected to make sure the wear of the locking mechanism is within acceptable limits and they lock with a positive action. A check should also be done to ensure doors still meet the original type certification design. Maintenance personnel who are undertaking periodic inspections should check to see all placards setting out door operating instructions are present and clearly visible. Aircraft operators should make sure pilots are aware of the requirement to confirm all doors and hatches are secure before aircraft engines are started. Operators also have a responsibility to ensure passengers are briefed correctly on the operation of doors, especially where a passenger sits at the only access door. In addition, it is recommended operators provide pilots with training on the procedures to follow if a door comes open during flight.

 

Read the airworthiness bulletin on door safety.

 

Townsville airspace users have their say

 

An aeronautical study of the airspace surrounding Townsville aerodrome has made four recommendations. The study, commissioned by CASA's Office of Airspace Regulation, made the recommendations after analysing issues raised by Townsville airspace users. These issues covered a range of areas including the operation of restricted and danger areas, air traffic control operations, navigation tracks, radio frequency congestion, confusion about procedures, pilot activated aerodrome lighting and the operations of the local emergency helicopter. There was also support for the introduction of standard instrument departures and standard arrival routes. Some of these issues fell outside the scope of the study or were not determined to be safety problems. The study recommends consideration of changes to the documentation relating to the activation of some temporary restricted and danger areas and the amendment of the description of one danger area. A recommendation is also made to Airservices Australia to investigate the suitability of changes to an instrument landing system approach when one restricted area is activated. The study says discussions with Airservices Australia about the introduction of standard instrument approaches and standard arrival routes should recommence. Further training of local operators on procedures may address other issues.

 

Read the Townsville airspace study report.

 

Have your say on new flight planning kit

 

CASA is seeking your views on the popular flight planning kit for pilots operating to the visual flight rules. The free kit was launched earlier this year and proved so popular that the first print run has already been distributed. To help make sure the kit does the best possible job in assisting pilots CASA's Safety Promotion branch is conducting an on-line survey. Feedback from pilots will be used to improve future editions of the kit, as well as to develop new CASA safety products. The short survey asks pilots how often they use the flight planning kit, how they rate the usefulness of the package and its various sections, any additional information that would assist pilots and if pilots have used the interactive flight planning tool called OnTrack. There is a text box for overall comments and other feedback. The survey is being run until the end of June 2011 and all pilots who have used the flight planning kit are urged to get online and take part. The flight planning kit 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). It 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.

 

Take part in the flight planning kit survey

 

Seminars for pilots in four states

 

Pilots at seven regional centres across four states should block out their diaries now for an evening AvSafety seminar during June 2011. The popular and valuable seminars will cover a range of topics including pre-flight decision making, airmanship, pilot maintenance, fuel management and operations at non-towered aerodromes. In June AvSafety seminars will be held at Parkes, Mudgee, Toowoomba, Warwick, Bendigo, Broome and Kalgoorlie. Most seminars are held at the local aero or flying club, with other central venues used where a club does not exist. Seminars usually start at 18:00 or 18:30. Pilots of all levels of experience and qualifications will benefit by attending a seminar and listening to presentations, with an opportunity to ask CASA's safety adviser questions and to raise local issues.

 

Find the AvSafety seminar in your area.

 

Top female trainee pilots honoured

 

Australia's outstanding female trainee pilots were honoured this month at the 61st Australian Women Pilots' Association annual conference. CASA sponsors awards for the best academic performance by female trainee pilots, based on exam results. This year's winner was Tessa Gorman, who completed her seven aeroplane air transport pilot licence exams in two and a half months and scored highly in all exams. Tessa scored a 100 per cent mark in her aviation law exam. As the top performer, Tessa received $3000 in prize money from CASA. Second place and $2000 went to Jacqueline Lew and Ashleigh Fergus won $1000 for being the third best female trainee pilot in exam performance. CASA's deputy Director of Aviation Safety, Terry Farquharson, presented the awards at the Australian Women Pilots' Association conference dinner, held in Darwin. Mr Farquharson said the winners of the awards had already made impressive achievements. CASA has been a long term sponsor of the awards.

 

Find out more about the Australian Women Pilots' Association.

 

Extra funds for remote airstrips

 

This year's Federal Budget allocated an extra $28 million to improve the safety of airstrips in remote communities. The money will be spent over the next two years. Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese said these airstrips are often the life-blood of remote Australian communities. "They provide residents with regular air access to emergency services, essential supplies and access to regional centres," Mr Albanese said. The funding is part of the Gillard Government's commitment to remote and regional aviation, as outlined in the national Aviation White Paper. Over the two years $22 million will be provided for aviation safety upgrades on a co-funding basis; and to provide for a higher proportion of funding for works at identified remote Indigenous communities. Another $4 million will be provided to designated airstrips at Indigenous communities that receive essential flights subsidised under the Australian Government's Remote Air Services Subsidy Scheme. Applications for funding of aerodrome safety upgrades at eligible remote communities will open in June 2011 or early 2011-12. "This vital funding continues our commitment to the safety and reliability of remote air services through which $20 million in Australian Government funding was approved for 151 projects over the last four years," Mr Albanese said.

 

 

[P4D]

Thanks John