Continued/- 19-26 January ’15

Last month, CASA placed limitations including a restriction of flights to daytime under the visual flight rules, for aircraft to be flown so they can at all times glide clear of a populous area, a requirement for passengers and trainee pilots flying solo to sign a statement saying they are aware of and accept the risk of an engine failure and trainee pilots to have recently and successfully completed engine failure exercises before solo flights.

Although CASA softened its original proposal after more than 600 responses from pilots and aircraft owners, Mr Stiff said the damage could be irreversible.

“Well they have damaged our market worldwide in reputation and order intake,” he said. “Manufacturing in Australia may have a sunset on it depending on exchange rates and labour competitiveness.”

Mr Stiff said CASA had prohibited operations of Jabiru-powered aircraft at three secondary airports including Moorabbin in Melbourne, Bankstown in Sydney and Archerfield in Brisbane.

“That has seriously affected flying schools operating in those airfields and caused economic damage,” he said.

“This was done on the basis that they had to protect people on the ground, which is the greatest load of nonsense.”

“Daily we hear of vehicles going off the road and hitting houses and you wouldn’t think of restricting vehicles from the roads.”

CASA issued the Precautionary Operational Limitations on all aircraft with Jabiru engines after more than 40 engine failures in 12 months.

Mr Stiff said he agreed with Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt, who labelled the process as “absolutely appalling”.

“We were given 24 hours to comment on those 45 incidents,’ he said.
“In a quick look over them we identified quite a few that were cases where the aircraft ran out of fuel. There were 12 inflight failures – well within the range of system failures and there was no justification for this action.”

Skidmore released the principles in the January CASA Briefing Newsletter issued today.

The five principles given to CASA staff are Safety, Communication, Cost, Complexity and Consistency.

“The first principle is of course aviation safety,” Skidmore points out. “The Civil Aviation Act makes this certain by stating its main object is to ‘establish a regulatory framework for maintaining, enhancing and promoting the safety of civil aviation, with particular emphasis on preventing aviation accidents and incidents.’

“The Act also requires CASA to ‘regard the safety of air navigation as the most important consideration’ when exercising our powers and performing our functions. So clearly CASA’s first principle must be to support the safest aviation environment for all Australians. CASA’s activities must pass the test of making a positive impact on maintaining or improving aviation safety.”

Skidmore’s last four all address issues raised by the aviation community to no avail during the tenure of the previous DAS.

“I know people in the aviation community have been talking about issues relating to these principles for some time and I thank those who have provided input to my approach,” he said. “I have told CASA’s people that I will require everyone in the organisation to think about and apply these principles when we make new regulations or amend existing regulations, when we make decisions and take or recommend actions.

“These principles will guide CASA in all our dealings with the aviation community.”

Skidmore went on to say that he personally wanted to see as many people flying as possible, and considered that CASA’s role was to “encourage, support and foster” high levels of aviation safety.

The entire text of the CASA Briefing Newsletter can be read on the CASA website.