[Peetwo]

"The first task for these new leaders is to develop and promulgate a new Aviation Safety Program that at least looks to the future and is written in support of the Convention." Amen...........

For a while now, most of the best advice, common sense and very sound logic provided in assistance to government departments, in relation to whats' left of the aviation industry has been provided by AMROBA.

The simple, plain English statement above, in a nutshell identifies and provides solution to almost every single anchor preventing the aviation industry from moving forward.

The blatant abuse and manipulation of the 'convention' has produced the worlds largest, most incomprehensible, undemocratic 'rule' set. Volumes and volumes of the stuff - arranged to ensure that no matter what - the administration have complete control of industry and can, on a whim or a 'say-so' ensure 'safe conviction'. The ways in which 'law' has been used to create a 'fear' of challenging the administration has been demonstrated many times, to the disgust and bemusement of many senior legal; counsel and Judges.

Australia is a signatory to the Chicago Convention; that is enshrined within the Constitution (51.1 from memory - stand corrected). The 'administration' is authorised to 'administer' an ICAO compliant regulatory suite - nothing else - just that. The spirit, intent and purpose of the Chicago convention has been twisted and warped into a hideous parody of that. This done through manipulation and 'differences'. What have we now - 4000 odd registered differences. These 'differences' are not of the "we say tomato - you tomayto" type. The majority reflect a cynical, even sinister manipulation which empowers CASA while denying industry any means of defence. Strict Liability being just one of many aberrations cunningly disguised as 'safety'.

The  new leadership need do a little more than 'look' at returning to ICAO compliance and the convention. It should be a sworn pledge, to this nation - to return the administration and regulation of the aviation industry back to sanity.

Government may only take one of two pathways. Spend another decade and an army of lawyers to unscramble the existing rule set : or, adopt the NZ. PNG, USA rule set and see industry revitalised within a twelve month. But either way - ICAO compliance is what we signed up for in Chicago, not some mad home made manipulation supported by 4000 'differences'. No Sir, indeed we did not.

Toot - toot.

P2 addendum: CASA obligations to the Chicago Convention and ICAO SARPS

First from Part II section 11 of the CA Act:

11 Functions to be performed in accordance with international
agreements

CASA shall perform its functions in a manner consistent with the
obligations of Australia under the Chicago Convention and any
other agreement between Australia and any other country or
countries relating to the safety of air navigation.

Next from Herbert D Ray's (slightly disjointed) submission to the ASRR:

Each submission displays how various matters are regulated by CASA’s FAR sterile
rules to contribute those rules to not being capable of administering and producing FAA
class one level aerospace products and only being capable of administering and
producing FAA class two level Australian aerospace products.

Our safety regulator has never being classed by the ICAO universal safety oversight
program (USOP) auditors as a ‘compliant ICAO treaty State and never being capable of
administering and producing FAA level one only level two rated aerospace products.

The submission to the ATSB displays how VH TWJ an MA18 Dromader that had a wing
failure near Ulladulla on the 24 Oct 2013 had been operating with illegal CASA 6600kg
auw CASA approved instructions certifying the operation of VH TWJ to operate by
2850lbs (1290kg) overweight to an ‘N’ registered Dromader in the US.

The CASA not FAA approved instructions are not recognized by the FAA which rates
the aircraft as a class two level aircraft that is not eligible to operate in US or any other
compliant ICAO treaty State airspace.

Each ICAO treaty State that has pledged to uphold the Chicago Convention international
treaty to internationalize their national civil aviation law to respond in concert with
international standards all have the objective regulating their national civil aviation law to
be capable of administering and producing FAA level one aerospace products.

ICAO treaty States are aware that only FAA level one rated aerospace products can
operate as an N registered aircraft or be installed on N registered aircraft and are
eligible to safely operate and navigate US and ICAO Treaty States airspace.

The ICAO treaty States are compliant ICAO Treaty States when they maintain the FAA
level 1 rating as a standard for aerospace products being eligible to safely operate and
navigate a States airspace.

An ICAO Treaty State audited by the ICAO universal safety oversight program rates a
State as being a ‘compliant ICAO Treaty State’ when its national civil aviation law can
administer and produces FAA level one rated Aerospace products.

Plus:

US rehabilitates Israeli air safety, a lesson for Australia
Ben Sandilands | Nov 02, 2012 8:05AM | EMAIL | PRINT

The US Federal Aviation Agency’s rehabilitation of Israel as a Level 1 state in relation to air safety ought to be read as the clearest of warnings to Australia to get its act together without delay.

If Australia is busted down to Level 2, which on the evidence, it should be, the consequences include the prohibition under US law of code shares between Australian flag carriers and those of America.

The managements of Qantas and Virgin Australia need to carefully consider what losing their respective code share deals with American Airlines and Delta would mean, and ask whether the craven acceptance of the dismal state of affairs in CASA, the ATSB and AirServices Australia is worth the damage such a downgrade would inflict on their shareholders, employees and commercial reputations.

When Israel flouted its responsibilities and was busted for almost four years, it failed to lobby its way out of trouble, which was quite surprising. But as Wikileaks showed earlier this year, when Australia provisionally failed the necessary audits to retain Level 1 status, our lobbying efforts saved the day.

Since then matters if judged by recent events, have gone backwards in CASA, the ATSB and AirServices Australia, and the risk of a safety downgrade and all of its commercial consequences should be treated (as it may already be in high places) as being severe and imminent.

This is the FAA statement concerning Israel, released overnight:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that Israel complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), based on the results of an October FAA review of Israel’s civil aviation authority.

Israel is now upgraded to Category 1 from the Category 2 safety rating the country received from the FAA in December 2008. Israel’s civil aviation authority worked with the FAA on an action plan so that its safety oversight system fully complies with ICAO’s standards and practices. A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards.

A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority – equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures With the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 1 rating, Israeli air carriers can add flights and service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers.

With the Category 2 rating, Israeli air carriers were allowed to maintain existing service to the United States, but could not establish new services As part of the FAA’s IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate or have applied to fly to the United States and makes that information available to the public.

The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.

This is the situation in Australia, in terse form: CASA is accused in multiple places, including under parliamentary privilege before the Senate, of conspiring with the ATSB, to withhold vital safety information contrary to the provisions of the Transport Safety Information Act of 2003 in order to protect the reputation of operator Pel-Air in relation to the ditching of one of Westwind jets off Norfolk Island in 2009, in the final report into the crash published by the ATSB on 30 August.

The ATSB has admitted that the report is not one it can be proud of, through its chief commissioner Martin Dolan, and the general manager, air safety investigations, Ian Sangston, deposed that he didn’t even know what safety questions had been asked of the survivors, but signed off on a report that did not even say whether the safety equipment on the jet worked. (It didn’t.)

AirServices Australia has recently lost at least two airliners in Australian controlled airspace, and in the case of the Virgin Australia 737 that it lost track of for most of the way between Sydney and Brisbane, lied about to the media, and has not addressed evidence that the notification of the incident to the ATSB was so inaccurate in the first instance that it had to be amended after the fact.

There are many more areas of administrative and competency failures, as regular readers of Plane Talking would be aware. The damage the situation in CASA, the ATSB and AirServices Australia can do to life, property and the economic interests of this country are considerable. They are conveniently ignored in the general media and public life. The inconvenience that will arise without determined and urgent corrective action cannot be understated.

MTF...P2 

Choc frog and a great 'pick-up'. Nicely done. 'K'.