[thorn bird]

Lots of passing strange events K.

The machinations of the public sector, once know as the public service, before it was privatised, there has always been anathema between its mandarins. I believe its known as the greasy pole, and much like a medieval royal court. Plotting, jousting and back stabbing is a sport played amongst the inhabitants endeavouring to reach the pinnacle of the pole.

But even when you get there you aint safe. Consider the Mandarins Mandarin, he sat at the pinnacle, top of the tree, then out of nowhere slid to the bottom, so far down he was in the roots.

We will probably never know why, but I can't help imagining that somewhere somehow skulduggery occurred, either by him and someone found out, or by someone else with a large knife in hand.

[Wombat]

You may not be aware that 1 September is a very important day for wombats - the start of a new wombat year. Burrows are freshened up, we groom a little better and we can be seen fraternising with other wombats at dusk. In my case I share some river frontage with Anastasia, Gladys and Dan, we get on quite well.

Marsupial New year is also a time to make resolutions; I’ve decided that the goings on at CASA are too much for my muddle head and that therefore I should wish the DAS and Board Chairman all the best and shut up because there seem to be things going on that I don’t understand.

I once happily burrowed into an earthen dam wall with spectacular and unfortunate results. I think that Chairman Binskin and DAS Spence are considerably brighter than me. I have wondered why such accomplished folk would take on the responsibility of CASA when both have reputations and years of service in front of them and can only conclude that they know what they are doing and that we must wait and see.

It is difficult to see the sky and stars from a burrow; I think I’ll leave off speculation and concentrate on earth moving. Good luck to CASA. Even a wombat can see that Covid is going to reshape everything.

[Peetwo]

Under the cover of COVID?? 

Su_Spence goes all COVID SAFE...

Courtesy of Wannabe, via the Oz:

‘Rusty’ aircrew may be prone to error, warns regulator



Australia’s aviation safety regulator has warned that mistakes are more likely to occur as airlines ramp up flying hours due to a ­deterioration of aircrews’ skills over the past 19 months.

An updated advisory on cabin safety, issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said errors were more likely in all aspects of aircraft operation, and more time should be taken to perform routine work.

Since the Covid pandemic struck, two-thirds of Australia’s aviation workforce has been stood down for weeks or even months at a time, with more than 10,000 employees of Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex currently without regular shifts.

In response, CASA advised airlines and cabin managers to spend “more time briefing as a team, and acknowledge that you may be more likely to make mistakes”.

“Do not forget that other operational staff may also be less current and operating with reduced capacity, meaning errors may be more likely,” its bulletin said.

“Allow more time for everything including activities that you may consider routine in nature.”

The bulletin urged cabin crew to monitor their own performance and that of colleagues, because of the likelihood of “a deterioration of skills”.

“You may be lacking the awareness to monitor situations as effectively as you used to be able to do,” said the advisory.

“Expect errors to be made by yourself and others.”

Flight Attendants Association of Australia national secretary Teri O’Toole said the CASA bulletin was a welcome reminder of the problems that could arise as a result of being away from the workplace for so long.

“The Covid restrictions and policy documents are almost changed daily for crew when they go interstate which places enormous pressure on crew,” said Ms O’Toole.

“On top of the changing rules and restrictions, cabin crew are having to manage self-isolation which is a significant amount to deal with.”

She said she was hopeful airlines would take on board the CASA direction for “a reassessment of existing training programs to ensure they sufficiently address skills and knowledge degradation”.

Ms O’Toole said she was also pleased to see CASA had flagged the need for “mental health and fatigue monitoring” among cabin crew. “It’s incredibly arduous at the moment,” she said. “We’ve had some crew in and out of quarantine at Howard Springs (in Darwin) for 70 to 80 days straight. It’s just horrendous the kind of stuff they’ve been going through.”

A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was mindful of the changed work environment to which crews were returning.

“We have designed a specific training course for cabin crew who haven’t flown for a while to ensure they come back with the skills and confidence to do their job safely,” the spokeswoman said.

“The training covers wellbeing and mental health, as well as practical aspects of their work.”

A new Covid procedures manual had also been developed to ensure crew were aware of all safety and wellbeing requirements, on top of their mandatory training.

Virgin Australia said it was continuing to review the CASA cabin safety bulletin.

Aircraft cleaning processes not so ‘Covid safe’: CASA



Increased cleaning and disinfection processes adopted by airlines in the Covid crisis could be compromising the safety of aircraft, the aviation regulator has warned.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has shared an advisory from its New Zealand equivalent highlighting the “airworthiness risks associated with Covid-19 cleaning requirements”.

The advisory noted that operators are cleaning and disinfecting aircraft interiors far more frequently and in greater depth than would have been the case previously.

“This may include daily cleaning of areas of the aircraft which were previously only cleaned during scheduled maintenance checks, such as the cockpit,” the advisory said.

“Operators must ensure that any changes they make to cleaning procedures, or the cleaning products they use, do not pose a hazard to airworthiness.”

The directive went onto warn of the various potential issues caused by applying inappropriate cleaning products to aircraft surfaces such as “grazing of plastics, damage to sealants, perishing of rubber products, corrosion and the reduction in fire retardant properties”.

Aircraft operators were also urged to ensure people cleaning “sensitive areas such as flight decks/cockpits, cabin windows and where electrical or avionic equipment is installed” were appropriately trained and supervised.

“In the first instance, the aircraft manufacturer is the best source to provide recommendations on what they consider appropriate materials and procedures to use,” the advisory said.

Airlines were then referred to a 32-page manual on cleaning by the International Air Transport Association featuring lengthy checklists for cleaners to follow.

A CASA spokesman said the advisory was considered to contain relevant information for aircraft operators.

However a Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was already abiding by the IATA standards and aircraft manufacturer guidelines, with regard to cleaning products and processes.

It follows an updated cabin safety bulletin issued on Wednesday, highlighting the risks posed by a deterioration of skills due to long stand-downs of airline workers.

Since the Covid crisis struck, two-thirds of the aviation workforce has been stood down for weeks or even months on end, and 10,000 employees of Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex are currently sidelined.

The bulletin warned more errors were likely, partly due to mental fatigue and workers should monitor their own performance and that of colleagues.

Flight Attendants Association of Australia national secretary Teri O’Toole said the warnings were timely with cabin crew facing arduous conditions due to constantly changing restrictions and regulations in the various states and territories.

A Qantas spokeswoman said they were mindful of the changed working environment to which employees were returning, and were providing extra training.

Virgin has established people support hotlines during stand down periods, and had engaged numerous experts to assist with potential mental health and wellbeing challenges.

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Chairman Dan calls in CASA Iron Ring favour on non-safety TRA-  

Via EWH: 

 

Furore builds over Melbourne TRA
24 September 2021

A temporary restricted area imposed over Melbourne by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has raised the ire of many within the general aviation community.


The TRA was put in place on Wednesday at the request of Victoria Police who were combatting anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protesters. The area covered a 3 nm radius centred on the Shrine of Remembrance from the surface to 2500 feet and was to be active for five days.

The move handed control of the Class G airspace within the zone to Victoria Police, which enabled them to stop news helicopters from live-streaming the protests. Police did give permission for helicopters to film, but demanded that footage be broadcast on a one-hour delay.

News outlets were granted relief from the TRA by the Federal Court yesterday, which has allowed live-streaming until CASA's decision to grant the request can be reviewed by the court next week. The media outlets argued that Victoria Police has no power to enforce the live-stream ban.

AOPA Australia CEO Ben Morgan said move was concerning and the justification for the TRA was not based in aviation safety.

"Our association is genuinely concerned that access to Melbourne's CBD airspace has been closed without valid justification, preventing commercial and media aviation from accessing the area," he said.

"Commercial and media aviation users accessing and operating within the Melbourne CBD are well versed and practiced at operating safely.

"Access to the Melbourne CBD airspace should not be manipulated for the purpose of avoiding public scrutiny or for political reasons."

Temporary Restricted Areas (also called "No-fly Zones") are not uncommon and have been applied in situations such as the devastating 2019-20 bushfires and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the Sydney Olympics. However, creating a temporary restricted area for the purpose of controlling media coverage has proven controversial and raised questions of censorship.

Victoria's AvSEF (formerly RAPAC) team was also not informed that the TRA had been imposed.

A CASA spokesperson has told Australian Flying that CASA is unable to comment whilst the matter is before the courts.

Meanwhile in another kind of court on the other side of town...

Plus from the 2nd day of the inquest, via the Herald Sun (thanks CW -  ):

‘Simple use of a checklist’ could have avoided Essendon DFO plane tragedy

Three twists of a knob was the difference between life and death for five men killed in a fiery plane crash into Essendon DFO.

A transport expert believes pilot Max Quartermain made a fatal error by manually rotating the rudder trim instrument 180 degrees to the right, turning the nose of the plane to the left, before the collision on February 21, 2017.

Images presented to a coronial inquest showed how Mr Quartermain’s plane, which was supposed to travel straight ahead as it carried four US tourists to King Island, instead veered to the left and smashed into the shopping hub within 10 seconds of takeoff.

Mr Quartermain and his golfer passengers Greg De Haven, Glenn Garland, Russell Munsch and John Washburn all died.





Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation manager Derek Hoffmeister agreed there were two possibilities behind the crash – that the rudder trim remained in the full nose left position from a previous flight and was not picked up by Mr Quartermain, or that he moved the knob mistakenly 180 degrees right.

“I think it’s more likely (Mr Quartermain) would have moved the trim to that position,” Mr Hoffmeister said.

CCTV showed Mr Quartermain walk around the Beechcraft B200 Super King aircraft for four minutes during a pre-flight inspection on the morning of the fatal crash.

But he didn’t have an appropriate flight check system in place, which could have picked up the rudder trim error.

“Simple use of a checklist could have diverted this tragedy,” Mr Hoffmeister said.



Mr Quartermain had been probed over a near-crash at Mount Hotham in 2015, where his plane came vertically within 90 metres of another, risking the lives of 18 people.

The coroner’s court heard Mr Quartermain blamed a GPS error for the 2015 near-miss, but destroyed the data card that would have proved what happened.

“It caused me concern that he destroyed the data card and I wondered the reasons for that – it seemed an odd thing to do,” said Civil Aviation Safety Authority investigator Rowland Cheshire.

The inquest continues.

The key line there is that the inquest continues while keeping in mind the continued delay of the ATSB investigation final report into the Essendon DFO approval process. Which according to these ATSB FOI released documents: https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5776657/fo...dacted.pdf ...was released to DIPs (including the Dept and CASA) nearly 3 years ago:

At the same time the Vic police and Coroner were invited to become DIPs to the investigation:

---

Not sure if the Coroner agreed to become a DIP to the investigation but it would appear the police certainly did - 

This IMO asks some real questions about the integrity and so called independence of both the Vic police and State Coroner. Which by association also calls into question the CASA OAR (almost immediate) decision to implement a TRA over Melbourne city without any associated aviation safety case to justify this decision. Meanwhile in the case of Essendon Fields Airport CASA can apparently only provide an opinion on whether non-aviation development encroachment needs serious safety risk mitigation...





MTF...P2 

[Cap'n Wannabe]

The latest blurb from The One, The Only.....*drumroll*.....Pip Spence!
(If you can handle more without overflowing the bucket, see here)

Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence

Remotely piloted aircraft are now well and truly a part of the aviation community, undertaking a wide range of commercial and community tasks, as well as bringing new people to flying for fun.

There are now more than 30,000 registered commercial drones, more than 22,000 licenced remote pilots and more than 2200 organisations holding remote certificates. This compares to about 15,000 registered aircraft, more than 31,000 current pilots and just under 800 air operator certificate holders.

CASA has a solid regulatory structure for drone safety, although the rapid development of the sector means we must continue to work to keep pace with technology. We are now seeing an increased focus on what is known as advanced air mobility.

This is defined as a safe and efficient aviation transportation system using highly automated aircraft transporting passengers or cargo at lower altitudes within urban and regional areas.

Clearly the introduction of advanced air mobility will bring regulatory and safety challenges which we have already begun to tackle.

Earlier this month I spoke at the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems 2021 summit and set out the issues and actions that are on our agenda.

Right now, CASA is working with industry on a regulatory safety roadmap that will outline both the strategic regulatory direction for the sector and provide an understanding of the specific implications of likely new regulatory requirements.

Key questions are being looked at such as where should CASA regulate and how does Australia compare to the rest of the world?

While in many ways we have a clean sheet to co-design a fit for purpose regulatory framework with industry, there are foundation safety issues that must be addressed.

These include the design, certification and airworthiness of new aircraft, the design and implementation of future airspace arrangements, training and licensing standards for pilots/controllers and standards for ground infrastructure.

The approach to these issues worldwide is initially being led by the way regulators currently manage safety in the crewed sector, but this will necessarily change as the technology drives us towards increasing levels of autonomy.

The central message I gave to the summit was that it is always important to remember that none of us 'do' safety for the sake of safety.

We 'do' safety because there is a public expectation that modes of transport made available to the community will have acceptable standards of safety – that the risks will be professionally and carefully managed.

This basic truth is fundamental, whether we are regulators, businesses or innovators and experimenters.

You can read my speech to the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems 2021 summit.

All the best

Pip

[Wombat]

Utter Bullshyte. I fail to understand how the DAS could believe this.

From her speech:

"Hearing words like this bring me a lot of satisfaction.

It means the approach CASA is taking is working and allowing businesses to innovate and prosper.

Despite what some people may say, those of us who work in the government sector do think and care about the real-world outcomes of policies, decisions and actions.

I know that in CASA I have a team of aviation experts who constantly strive to get the best possible safety and operational outcomes for the sectors we regulate.

Safety is of course the number one priority, but we also have a responsibility to ensure regulations and requirements do not stop businesses and individuals reaching their potential and being rewarded for their efforts.

This is particularly important in fast growing and innovating sectors where the burden of unnecessary red tape can stymie new ideas and discourage investment at critical points.."

The statements above are utterly and completely at variance with everything CASA has done as evidenced by submissions to Forsyth, the current Senate enquiry and of course what they recently did to Glen Buckley and APTA. How can CASA keep doing this with a straight face?

[Sandy Reith]

Wombat asks, quote:- “ The statements above are utterly and completely at variance with everything CASA has done as evidenced by submissions to Forsyth, the current Senate enquiry and of course what they recently did to Glen Buckley and APTA. How can CASA keep doing this with a straight face?”

We’ll search me, I’ve been perusing a number of the comments, about 1000, that came with the signatories of the Change.org petition that I instigated in 2016. That petition garnered 2946 signatures on the basis of the title “Save Australia’s General Aviation from bureaucratic disaster.” Together those comments are evidence of a depressing situation, story after story of unnecessary and debilitating pain to large numbers of General Aviation people.

Although I don’t fly commercially now, its plain there’s been no real improvements that would go in any way towards obviating the great numbers of unnecessary, CASA induced, problems as outlined by the petitioner’s comments. And in view of Glen Buckley’s abominable treatment by CASA it wouldn’t be difficult to say its a case of from bad to worse. Adding insult to injury, the Government seems hell bent on turning our most important GA airports into precincts of shopping centres and warehouses. Crass stupidity comes to mind but that wouldn’t be polite so let’s put it down to ignorance.

[Peetwo]

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST?? - The Git is gone.   

From a reliable source, today I received the following SMS: "Crawford leaving CASA"

Tried to back this up with some scuttlebutt around the traps until someone noticed the CASA org chart had today been updated??
 

Ref: https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/ou...onal-chart

Last modified: 5 October 2021

Not only is the Git gone but also his former position as Aviation Group Executive Manager and the Aviation Group/division itself have seemingly disappeared??

Curious I went to the Git's Linkedin page where I discovered the following..

Ref: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graeme-m-cra...bdomain=au & https://www.linkedin.com/in/graeme-m-cra...-activity/

Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Total Duration 5 yrs 6 mos
Title Acting CEO & DAS
Full-time
Dates Employed Jan 2021 – Present
Employment Duration 10 mos
Location Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
The CEO/Director of Aviation Safety (DAS) is responsible for managing CASA subject to the directions of, and in accordance with policies determined by the Board. The CEO/DAS is also responsible for implementing the objectives, strategies and policies decided by the Board and, in consultation with the Board, developing and articulating CASA’s corporate goals and practices. The CEO/DAS supports the Board’s efforts to ensure that CASA performs its functions in a proper, efficient and effective manner, and complies with directions given by the Minister under section 12B of the Civil Aviation Act 1988.

FFS - He still lists himself as the Acting CEO/DAS? Maybe this is because he hasn't revisited his Linkedin page since he was in that role but it also suggests that his demise came fairly suddenly??

However there is also evidence (2nd link above) that he has been active on Linkedin within the last couple of months:

Steven Campbell
• 3rd+
Chief Executive Officer at Regional Aviation Association of Australia
2mo • 2 months ago

So after a false start, finally got 1st vaccination shot. Just need all the conspiracy theorists to pull their heads in. Let’s get to 80% ASAP and we can open up and stay open!

---

Shane Carmody FRAeS. GAICD.

Strategic Adviser, Leader, Mentor
2mo

Already had number two. Vax is the only solution.

---

Graeme M. Crawford

Acting CEO & DAS at Civil Aviation Safety Authority
2mo

Steve,
Your a bit slow to the dance. I have had both jabs.

Hmm..no comment required me thinks...

Senior Advisor - Aviation
Company Name Deputy Prime Minister's Office
Dates Employed May 2018 – Feb 2020
Employment Duration 1 yr 10 mos
Location Canberra, Australia

---

Senior Aviation Adviser- Office of the CEO
Company Name Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Dates Employed Oct 2017 – May 2018
Employment Duration 8 mos
Location Canberra, Australia

Except to remind everyone that 6 months after leaving St Commode's office, as his Senior Aviation Adviser and becoming McDonaught's SAA, he advised (or not) the former miniscule that it would be a good idea to park his shiny arse in a Canary yellow Soar aircraft at Moorabbin: 

 

MTF...P2 

[thorn bird]

There's a nasty rumour that the Scottish Git has left the building. Anyone confirm this so I can break out the champers.

[Plane Fixer]

https://aopa.com.au/casa-shake-up-group-...-crawford/
It appears he has left the building.

[Kharon]

The C's arse Glee Club. Disbanded...

An unholy trinity; disbanded. Funny old payout though - when you pause to consider it. Carmody gets a gong and the bums rush; the unspeakable Campbell (one of the many) gets to 'parlay' for RAAA (what the Hell are they thinking) and Crawford gets sacked. Many are hoisting a quiet beer or three to the Crawford ousting - even believing that it is a 'sign' of thing's to come - wrong. Sorry chaps (and chapesess) but it has little; if anything, to do with industry prayers for reformation - zero, zip, por nada.

The Git from the Gorbals was, from the very first estimates with Spence given enough rope - and; the bloody fool took it. Ego, bombast and a total lack of contact with reality led our wee Scots lamb to the butchers knife.

There is a benefit to abject failure: after the debacle with Qantas a sensible, realistic man would have had a good long think about 'how come' I buggered up such  a great job so completely that I was forced to work for CASA? Lesson learnt and a promise to self made, not to ignore the clear warnings. But no; and alas.

You see children - Crawford was at first tolerated; then he made a fatal, but inevitable mistake - he grossly offended the 'White hats' - those who toil within CASA for sanity. Rebellion from within is what done him: (well that and an unpleasant personality).

Spence was given no options - nary a one - it is 'us' (200 odd) or him`. Spence - wisely IMO - decided to remove the offending person and his piss-potical edicts rather than loose the white hat's who had, most definitely - to the point of mass resignation and union action had enough of the Gorbals Git. Sod all to do with an industry - from big Q down to the Kickatinalong flight school - por nada. Simply a much needed move to pacify the 'good troops' open rebellion. Company politics eh?

I may add that Spence - stand alone; would never have fired the bugger without some serious support from deep within the 'status quo'. Rang for advice, got it and signed the paperwork. QED.

Aye well - all's well that ends well - no matter how we got there. It ain't much; SDA in fact, but it is most satisfactory nevertheless. No matter the radical - we are, officially, much better off than we were. A good riddance - I'd say.

Toot - toot.

[Wombat]

What are RAAA thinking? Shirley it’s obvious; to get as far up the proverbial as possible with a view to regulatory capture. The purpose of that action - regulatory capture, is to assist and support CASA in complexifying the rules and regulations even further. The purpose of that is to build barriers to entry against new competitors.

Big business is ALWAYS in favor of more regulation if it keeps potential new entrants out of the market.

For example, guess who would NOT be in favor of instructors working on their own without affiliation to a flying school? That’s right, existing flying schools who invested $100,000+ in paperwork.

[Wombat]

Pollyanna? Not. After bailing out my burrow, I read the “Flight Safety” interview with Ms. Spence.

Now the marsupial mind is not very plastic; wombats tend to be direct in their thinking and travelling behaviour, so when I read Pip Spence:

'I’d like to think the CASA I lead is a respected regulator, a transparent regulator. Inevitably, some people won’t like a decision, but I never want people to be able to say, ‘We have no idea why they decided what they did’ .

I want to make sure we’ve got a really sophisticated approach to risk management that is embedded within the organisation. That means everything we do has got to be owned by the executive and focussed on the things that are important to aviation safety.

I want to make sure we focus on what genuinely matters and act in a way that helps not hinders safety – allowing pilots, engineers, airports, airlines and everyone that plays a part in aviation to put their energy and effort into making their operations and businesses as safe as they can be.

Success for me also means knowing we won’t always get it right, but it’ll never be deliberate. We have to be able to acknowledge when we got it wrong, apologise and work out what we need to do to move on."

……….And for that to work, a ‘just culture’ is such an important principle. If someone does do something wrong, they shouldn’t feel they’re going to be held up as a scapegoat or criticised publicly. As an organisation we need to support anyone who, for whatever reason, made an honest mistake.”

I thought we had a certified Pollyanna as DAS..

Then it slowly dawned on me that no one, not even a wombat, could be that stupid. I realised I had been reading a subtle statement of expectations.

I think it’s time we got behind Ms. Spence and helped.

[thorn bird]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. For the past thirty odd years General aviation passed along that road and found hell is not only paved but roofed and walled with good intentions.

Whether Ms Spence was instrumental in the departure of one pair of intractable sociopaths or not is immaterial, even if she has good intentions, there is a snowballs chance in hades of any real change until all the hydra's heads are removed, she will need very heavy political top cover for that, the iron ring is very powerful and ruthless if their hegemony is threatened.

CASA and their regulations alone are not the only thing threatening the survival of general aviation, though as the arbiters of "Safety" they themselves have deliberately or negligently ignored the safety hazards being generated by the industrial developments occurring at Australia's secondary airports so must bear some culpability when the inevitable occurs.

Sorry for being so cynical, but we've heard many well intentioned statements so many times turned into paving stones, one can see a glimmer of hope, I wish Ms Spence well, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Peetwo]

Su_Spence sips from the Can'tberra Koolaid fountain - 



     

Via the surreal world on the top floor of Aviation House...

If you ever needed further proof, that left to their own devices, Su_Spence & Co will continue to slurp from the 'Mystique of Aviation Safety' Koolaid fountain, while Lording over an industry being slowly embuggered and strangled to death by their self-serving behemoth rule set - read this... 

 (Warning: Bucket maybe required) 



Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence

It is not long until the new suite of flight operations regulations hit a key milestone on 2 December 2021. Most people and organisations in Australian aviation will be touched by the new Parts of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. 

They cover the general operating and flight rules, large and small aeroplane transport, rotorcraft transport, aerial work and certification and management of air operator certificates as well as sport and recreational activities.

For some people the new rules do not have a great impact as they largely reflect the provisions of the existing regulations and other requirements. That said, it is important that everyone has a look at the elements of the new rules that are relevant to their aviation activities.
 
There are important safety improvements and also opportunities for increased flexibility.

For private pilots, we have the Plain English Guide to the general operating and flight rules and the popular Visual Flight Rules Guide is being fully updated. 

I know that 2021 has been a challenging year and I’m committed to ensuring CASA makes the transition as easy as possible for operators by taking a sensible approach to what is required.

The areas of aviation most affected by the new rules are commercial operations, and CASA has been providing a lot of information to operators over the course of this year about how to transition.

We are looking for your best endeavours in preparing, focusing on safe operations and the most important safety changes.

There is a need for essential documentation to be provided to CASA before 2 December so that an Air Operator’s Certificate can transition to the new regulations, but there will not be a detailed assessment of manuals, approval steps or additional checks on operators before transition.

We will be relying on routine audits and risk-based surveillance activity as part of a measured approach to support full transition after 2 December 2021.

I want to thank all operators who have already submitted manuals, expositions or other required documents. We have been engaging directly with many operators across different sectors and it is great to see so many are prepared for the start of the new rules.

I am pleased to see a general consensus that industry and CASA are preparing well for the 2 December milestone, but if you are having any issues, please reach out to us now.
 
All the best
 
Pip

MTF...P2 

[Wombat]

This is ominous, very ominous:

“ We are looking for your best endeavours in preparing, focusing on safe operations and the most important safety changes.”


“Best endeavours” is a legal term meaning all efforts short of bankruptcy. The alternative contract wording is “reasonable endeavours” or “commercially reasonable endeavours”.

Folks this is no accidental turn of phrase. I take it to mean that you Will comply or else. No excuses will be accepted.

As always the devil is in the details as well.

But that begs the question; How is this new pile of manuals, expositions and words printed on paper going to make any operation safer? What physical actions are going to change as a result of the new regs?

[Peetwo]

Dr A - Judge, Executioner and ICAO obfuscator??

Via CASA and the SBG: https://auntypru.com/sbg-31-10-21-what-a...5-minutes/

Wombat's review on the latest (updated 1 November) version of the Su_Spence CASA ORG chart (above):

The lament of the elderly regarding the young: "If they only knew, if we only could" one of the perks of our aged Board of Directors was the necessity of dealing with Corporate Governance matters which occasionally became quite titillating for the old dears when it had to do with Managers laying hands on staff (with or without permission) and the formation of (Ahem) liaisons between staff members of any sex encompassing "power imbalances". I remember when Big Bertha, our marketing manager, got caught with Charlie the mailroom boy in the photocopier room but that is not for tender ears.

Most of Governance is about risk management. A large chunk of that is to ensure that the staff don't run off with the money or the goods nor open world war three with the ATO. Our Auditors and Directors were very concerned by what they termed "The separation of powers" to ensure that didn't happen.

In the corporate world we did most of that by "separation of powers" also called separation of duties, the person who orders goods isn't the same person who writes the cheques to pay for them. Prisons are full of those whose employers ignored this temptation.:

"Separation of duty, as a security principle, has as its primary objective the prevention of fraud and errors. This objective is achieved by disseminating the tasks and associated privileges for a specific business process among multiple users."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_duties

Now imagine my surprise when i saw the latest CASA organisation chart. Seven good and true managers reporting to Ms. Spence - that's good - span of control and all that textbook stuff, no more than seven, yes, big tick, but then I noticed something our auditors and Directors would have jibed at;

The functions of litigation, investigations, enforcement AND advisory and drafting of the regulations are all under the control of the Executive Manager Legal, International and Regulatory. Our Directors would have choked on their foie gras over that.

Imagine, I get to write the regulation, investigate you to see if you are complying with the finer points of my requirements, decide wether your compliance with my ukase was sufficiently to my liking, or not, then arrange for  your punishment to suit my whim on that day and begin the process of punishing you. All without so much as rising from my office chair.

Pardon the pun but this won't fly in the corporate world at all. Not a  hope. Those powers would be spread between at least three managers. Which begs the question; is CASA so poor that it can't afford the staff to separate those roles? I think we should take up a collection to pay for that.

You forgot to add the fact that Dr A is also in charge of international aviation relations and in particular our compliance (non-compliance) with the 7 December 1944 Chicago convention treaty, through the continued obfuscation of thousands of the ICAO SARPs - eg. : https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...rences.pdf



I would also add that although in recent months the CASA Org chart has had several amendments, the Dr A Fiefdom of 'Legal International and Regulatory Affairs' has remained intact and unaltered, with the same individuals in charge, for over half a decade...

Finally I must admit to being somewhat bemused that (the man who was brought in to provide top cover for  CASA's attempted manipulation of the outcome of the ATSB PelAir final report [see references to 'critical safety issue' etc here:  https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...lement.pdf ]) Mr John Grima has finally climbed up the greasy pole of CASA middle management to now sit in the (albeit acting) Stakeholder Engagement EM role?? What in the world his quals are (other than being a sociopath and a former McComic acolyte) in regards to that position I have no idea?? Another perfect example of why CASA simply won't change while you continue to have entrenched Iron Ring acolytes still scurrying around the darker corners of Aviation House...        

MTF...P2 

Ps As a point of comparison checkout the Org Chart for AMSA...  


In regards to 'separation of powers' of the legal department, perhaps BJ could kindly suggest that Pip adopt a similar model for CASA - 

[Peetwo]

Part 103 MOS deferred; & RAOz v AGAA war ensues?? - 

From 41:49 here:

And via the Yaffa: 

Standards for Recreational Aircraft deferred as Industry Dissents



11 November 2021





CASA has deferred making the Manual of Standards (MOS) for CASR Part 103 in the face of aviation community feedback.
Part 103 covers the standards for aircraft administered by Approved Self-administering Aviation Organisations (ASAO) such as Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) and the Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA). The MOS for Part 105 on parachuting operations has also been deferred.

Part 103 was also set to contain an increased maximum take-off weight of 760 kg, which will now be introduced as an amendment to CAO 95.55.

CASA submitted the draft Part 103 MOS to a technical working group (TWG) of the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel, but on 29 October the TWG responded rejecting the MOS on the grounds that it was over prescriptive.

"The TWG does not agree that the draft Part 103 MOS is suitable for public consultation and believes that it is not fit for purpose in its current form," CASA was told. "The TWG raised significant concern that the draft MOS is overly prescriptive given the type of operations (i.e., recreation) that are intended to operate under Part 103.

"The TWG also raised concern that the draft MOS shifted away from the informed participation philosophy and believes that more responsibility should be given to the individual organisations that are administering these rules given they have operated safely under the current requirements.

"The TWG also advise that there are additive requirements in the draft MOS that have not been thoroughly discussed or debated amongst the TWG or the industry and therefore these policy matters need to be discussed in detail before settling the MOS.

"The TWG are willing to continue working with CASA to settle the MOS. However, given the amount of work required to settle the MOS and the limited time remaining until the commence [sic] date of the regulations, the TWG raise significant concerns that it is unfeasible to expect operators to implement and meet the requirements by 2 December."

CASA and the TWG were able to agree on a proposed pathway forward for the Part 105 MOS, which included provisions for regulations going forward in lieu of the full introduction of the new rules. The pathway included:

• The deferral of the making of the Part 103 MOS to 2022. This will ensure more time is allowed to work through policy matters in further detail to settle the MOS.
  
• The making of a legislative instrument that reflects current requirements contained in the current 95 series CAOs to ensure operators can continue to operate from the 2 December 2021, with the addition of the increase in MTOW that was previously consulted.
  
• Further consultation to occur on proposed changes to the stall speed limitation for light aeroplanes, and access to controlled airspace. It is intended that these consultations commence as soon as practicable and be conducted separately to any work on the MOS.
  

"While the Part 103 MOS is being finalised, these operations will be subject to amended Civil Aviation Orders (CAOs)," a CASA statement released today said. "The aim is to achieve the same outcome as current requirements.

"The amended CAOs will include exemption from Part 103 and relevant provisions in Part 91. CAOs applicable to the operation of sport and recreational aircraft from 2 December 2021 are:

• CAO 95.4
  
• CAO 95.4.1
  
• CAO 95.8
  
• CAO 95.10
  
• CAO 95.12
  
• CAO 95.12.1
  
• CAO 95.32
  
• CAO 95.55
  

"We look forward to continuing to work with the Part 103 technical working group on the matters raised during our collaboration on the MOS development."

Finally, for what it's worth, EWH gives us his OP on this Su_Spenceful development...

Via LMH: http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...ember-2021

...Has the Part 103 technical working group (TWG) gone where TWGs before them have failed? The group threw the draft Part 103 Manual of Standards back at CASA declaring it unworkable in it's current form and circled the word "Dissent" on the feedback form to the regulator. And CASA has accepted it. TWGs before have tried that sort of thing before and found what they dissented about was implemented anyway. The TWGs are part of the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) and advice by definition imposes no obligation on anyone. So why on this occasion has CASA accepted the rebuff with a simple "Yeah, nah, you're right." I am tossing around one of two reasons: CASA is regretting submitting a half-baked document, or this shows there is a thawing in the customary frosty response handed out when the aviation community tells the regulator it's wrong about something. I so want to believe the latter because it would show a siesmic shift in attitude towards the value of industry advice and an admission that expertise does exist outside the glassy doors of Aviation House. Contrast this reaction and the reaction to aviation community dissent over Part 61: chalk and cheese. This is not to say that the TWGs haven't been able to influence things in the past, they have, but in nearly every case CASA made amendments then implemented some form of Frankenstein regulation. I hope their acceptance of the Part 103 TWGs rejection of the MOS is a signal that those days may be behind us...

Compare the experience of the Part 103 TWG to the ALAEA's feedback/support for complaint to the ICC on the CASA interaction with the Part 43 TWG: Ref - Addendum: CASE Studies and Motherhood statements

---

Hmm...perhaps there is a whiff of a 'change of attitude' within the regulator - but then we've been here before haven't we?? 


MTF...P2 

[Wombat]

I was always taught to start a talk with a joke. This one came to mind for a reason that I will explain at the end: Way back in Europe during the Napoleonic era, the great general was travelling with the French Army back to France after beating up the Austrians at Austerlitz when the came to the French Border at Strasbourg or suchlike. The army encamped for the night. Now in those days and considering the ferocity of Napoleon and his troops, it was customary and considered a good idea at the time for the City to hoist flags, fire guns and generally appear happy and joyous that their Lord and Master was passing by, yet there was no sound or recognition from the city. The following morning Napoleon decided to make enquiries as to this lack of etiquette….

The City Fathers, led by the Mayor, were arrested by a Squadron of Cavalry and brought shaking and sweating before Napoleon to account for this apparent lapse. The question was politely asked by Marshall Ney as to why the City had not fired a Twenty Four gun salute?

The Mayor, began to answer; “Mon General” he started, “Our sentries had their telescopes stolen and did not see Army approaching, when they did see you, they sent for the Captain of the Guard, but the messengers horse threw a shoe and the message was delayed.” He continued and explained that the Captain of the guard had lost the key to the magazine and when the spare was found, it was discovered that the gunpowder was wet and mice had eaten the fuses.

Then Mayor continued to explain this misfortune for another Ten minutes and then came to the denouement: “And finally your Excellency, we have no cannon!”.

I have been following the latest twists and turns in L’Affaire Buckley and that brought up thoughts of a Police interrogation of a suspect in the case of aparticularly nasty rape and murder in inner city Melbourne. The bloke claimed his mobile phone had been stolen when asked why it was found at the scene of the crime. He had alibis for where he was on the night in question. He had not travelled anywhere that evening he said. The investigator listened to all this and was most sympathetic. He then gave the suspect a photo, taken by a traffic camera, of himself driving a car on the Calder Highway at the time he claimed he was shacked up with his girlfriend. The investigator walked out of the room and left the suspect alone with the photo for thirty minutes. When he returned the suspect confessed.

If I was an Ombudsman or perhaps an employee of CASA, I would be wondering exactly what evidence Mr. Buckley might have of the alleged misbehaviour of CASA, if he has any. What some may consider and perhaps characterize as the voluminous ramblings of an emotional crank, if found to be substantially true, do not paint CASA in a good light from any number of viewpoints, not least potential investors in Australian Aviation.

It will be interesting to see if Mr. Buckley, like our proverbial French Mayor and our Police investigator has neglected to provide his incontrovertible evidence till the last.

[thorn bird]

If Auntie Pru is not giddy by now I have no doubt that by the time she's read the latest email confection from mother goose Spence her head will be spinning like a top. I tried to copy it to this forum without success, beyond my feeble IT skills.
Where's P2 when you need him. WARNING: Make sure you have a bucket handy when you read it.