[Peetwo]

Latest CofFEE report and ICAO non-compliance with Annex 14 - 

Ref from BITN thread:  

Also the latest excellent University of Newcastle CofFEE report has been tabled as a UFU supplementary submission:

10.1 Supplementary to submission 10 (PDF 1659 KB) 

Introduction

In February 2019 the UFUA commissioned the Centre of Full Employment and Equity
(“CofFEE”) to research and examine issues relevant to the Senate Inquiry into the provision
of rescue, firefighting and emergency response at Australian airports. The subsequent
report (“the Report”), which is attached to this supplementary submission, covers the
following:

 the current system of Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (“ARFF”) at Australian
airports;
 the regulatory system governing ARFF in Australia and the international system of
compliance to standards;
 the requirements of ARFF services and compares the Australian standards with
international best practice;
 how Australian standards comply with the international standards and
recommendations;
 the cost of ARFF provision at Australian airports and reviews the pricing model used
to finance ARFF services in Australia; and
 the economic benefits of tourism and shows the links between air transport and
tourism, particularly in Australia. It goes on to examine the safety of air transport,
people’s perception of the safety of air transport and the possible consequences of a
reduction in Australia’s reputation as a safe place to travel.

The Report as a whole provides a detailed and substantiated overview of ARFF services in
Australia. The UFUA respectfully highlights in particular the below key points, as contained
in the Report:

Section 3 “Regulatory system of ARFF provision” presents the delay in establishing ARFF
provision at Proserpine Airport despite it having reached the 350,000-passenger movement
threshold in the2016-17 financial year.

The Report further suggests ARFF provision be extended to secondary capital city airports
that see a large volume of aircraft movements.

Additionally, the Report covers the ineffectiveness of maintaining standards under the
current regulatory system due to the exemptions process and examples of non-compliance
with current regulations and standards. The Report recommends a greater degree of
oversight and transparency regarding the rationale behind the application and granting of
exemptions, and of addressing of non-compliance.

Reference is also made to the 450 differences listed by Airservices between ICAO SARPS
and Australian ARFF regulations and practices. It is noted that, while the majority are
probably not safety issues, the sheer number of differences creates a real risk of serious
safety concerns hidden among a multitude of somewhat trivial differences.

Section 4 covers ARFF best practice and presents a comparison between a variety of
standards with those of the minimum standards established by CASA for:

 the provision of a dedicated ARFF service at an airport (4.3)

 the number of ARFF vehicles required per category of airport (4.4); and
 the quantity of water, foam and agent (4.5).

The Report finds that in all instances CASA’s minimums fall below those recommended by
the recognised best practice of the National Fire Protection Administration (“NFPA”) 403.

Section 4.6 compares Airservices’ minimum staffing levels to those recommended by the
NFPA1, finding Airservices’ minimum levels fall below those established by NFPA. Of
particular concern here is the absence of a Task Resource Analysis (“TRA”) methodology by
Airservices in establishing staffing numbers. The TRA approach is recommended and
outlined by both ICAO and NFPA. The NFPA standard is that staffing levels shall be
established through a TRA based on the needs and demands of the airport. The TRA and
Workload Assessment are used to examine the effectiveness of staffing levels and to
analyse two levels of ARFF staffing, a minimum level and an optimum level. The NFPA
also provides a minimum number of ARFF-trained personnel that are required to be readily
available to respond to an incident, based on the minimum response times and extinguishing
agent discharge rates and quantities required. The staffing levels determined by the TRA
shall not be lower than the values specified in the NFPA standards.

Section 4.7 of the Report makes reference to the use of high reach extendable turrets, which
despite universal acceptance of their superiority in controlling post-crash fires and the fact
the technology has been in use for decades, are not fitted to any of Airservices’ ARFF
vehicles.

Section 5 covers Australia’s compliance with ICAO standards. In particular, the Report
notes that there are nineteen out of 462 differences listed regarding the provision of ARFF at
aerodromes, and of these nineteen differences, nine are classified as ‘less protective or
partially implemented / not implemented’.

Section 6 breaks down the cost of ARFF provision in Australia, the current pricing structure
and alternative models of funding ARFF services. The Report refers to a number of studies
that demonstrate passengers are willing to pay more for the provision of ARFF services.
Section 7 details the relationship between tourism and air travel, the economic benefits of
tourism, its impact specifically to the Australian economy and Australia’s aviation safety
record. Of particular note is a quotation from the Australian Safety Transport Bureau (page
59 the Report), which states:

“Australia holds one of the best safety records in the world. … However, a single

fatal accident involving a high capacity [regular public transport] jet aircraft would

lead to a major worsening in Australia’s international position with respect to

[regular public transport] fatality rates and there is no room for complacency.”

The Report subsequently examines the perception of air safety and its effect on demand
before assessing the economic loss to Australia from a potential air transport accident. It
notes that while the public’s perception of air safety is a subjective matter, there is evidence
that people avoid airlines involved in accidents and that demand for all air travel falls when
there are accidents.

The lack of confidence in travellers following a serious aviation accident also translates in
dollar terms. An attempt to measure the effect a serious aviation accident would have on
Australia’s tourism industry showed that total Gross Value Added would fall by almost $2.8

billion, based on a seven per cent fall in international tourists and a twelve per cent fall in
domestic tourists.

From page 36 of the CofFEE report:

And from the summary for section 3:

The ICAO was set up following the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as
the Chicago Convention, signed in 1944. The ICAO sets out Standards and Recommended
Practices (SARPs) for Aerodromes in Annex 14 to the Convention on International Civil
Aviation, with Rescue and Fire Fighting at airports dealt with in Chapter 9.2 of Volume 1 of
the Annex. It is a requirement by ICAO that Member States notify the ICAO of any differences
between their national regulations and practices and the SARPs, particularly where such a
difference is important for the safety of air navigation. ICAO monitor the implementation of
the SARPs of Member States through the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme
(USOAP).

CASA has provided ASA with a variety of exemptions from standards and regulations, six of
which refer to ARFF. Aside from these six, it was recently revealed at Senate hearings that
ASA are non-compliant with a further two regulations despite not receiving an exemption.

There appears scope for an extra layer of oversight that may be useful in reviewing situations
such as these and exemption applications and providing recommendations on their necessity,
appropriateness and most importantly, their impact on safety standards. CASA’s Aviation
Safety Advisory Panel consists of Technical Working Groups (TWG), set up to deal with
particular sectors of the industry and to offer advice. Despite a TWG on ARFF being approved,
it has yet to be established.

The USOAP, set up by ICAO to monitor compliance with their SARPs, has evolved into a
Continuous Monitoring Approach, where the emphasis is on the availability of information on
the safety performance of Member States being provided to other Member States. The
notification of differences is at the heart of the CMA, yet the degree of non-compliance is not
clearly apparent when comparisons are made between countries. Button et al. (2004) point out

the problem with the ICAO structure is that it relies heavily on voluntary involvement and
application by its Member States and the ICAO has no formal mechanisms for imposing
penalties on non-compliant States even if they are identified. Similarly, Spence et al. (2015)
claim the ICAO is powerless to enforce its SARPs

& from summary section 6:

CASA only requires ARFF at Level 1 airports, which are airports receiving scheduled
international passenger air services or those above the threshold passenger numbers referred to
above. All airports with ARFF in Australia correspond to Category 6 or above. A survey of
similar countries and their requirements for airports to be serviced with ARFF found all other
countries had less restrictive obligations than Australia, such that if Australia adopted any of
the alternative systems, ARFF would be required at many more airports around the country.

+


As seen already CASA only requires... 
...ARFF services to be provided at airports in receipt of international passenger air services or
where passenger movements through an airport are above 350,000 over a 12 month period.

This means Australia has ARFF services at 28 airports, despite having 195 certified airports
around the country.

In the US and UK, ARFF services are required at all certified (or licenced) airports. In the US,
airports where scheduled flights with more than nine seats (or unscheduled flights with more
than 30 seats) take-off or land are required to be certified. In the UK, CAP 168 prescribes
“Rescue and fire fighting equipment and services shall be provided at an (licenced) aerodrome”
(CAA, 2019, p. 364). There, aircraft whose total maximum weight is greater than 2,730 kg
which are being used for commercial air transport of passengers or for instruction or tests for
a pilot’s licence are required to use a licenced aerodrome.

In preparation for the Regulatory Policy Review into ARFF services in 2015-16 (see section
3.4), the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development published a public
consultation paper that, among other things, compared the levels of ARFF service provision at
airports in comparable countries, including the US and UK as above, as well as Canada and
New Zealand. In all four countries, airport operators are required to provide and to finance
ARFF services as part of their licencing arrangements. Canada, like Australia has passenger
thresholds, above which ARFF is required at an airport, however, their passenger threshold is
180,000, just over half of Australia’s threshold. New Zealand require certification at airports
used by aircraft with a passenger capacity of 30 in regular passenger transport and where there
are 700 movements in the busiest consecutive 3-month period.

All these other countries have much lower requirements for providing ARFF services at
airports than Australia. If Australia adopted the trigger used in any of those countries, many
more airports around the country would require an ARFF service.

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Non-compliance with ICAO Annex 14 - Part II.

Still amazes me that the significance of an independent academic paper, like the CofFEE report, is seemingly just ignored by the pollywaffles and bureaucracy involved in the oversight and administration of aviation safety in this country - UDB!     

However for now back to the CofFEE report, ref pg 37:

"...ICAO requires that where a Member State’s regulations and practices vary from a Standard

outlined in the Annex, notification of these differences must be made. Australia publishes all
differences in GEN 1.7 of the national Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). In the
current version of this publication published in April 2018, there are 462 differences listed for
Annex 14 Volume 1..."

From my last count 462 differences for Annex 14 Vol 1 amounts to approximately 10% of the total notified differences to the ICAO SARPs. It should be remembered that those 462 NDs also include the OLS and RESA requirements around certified airports.

For example under OLS SARPs paras 4.4.1 & 4.4.2... 

4.4 Other objects

4.4.1 Recommendation.— Objects which do not project through the approach surface but which would nevertheless
adversely affect the optimum siting or performance of visual or non-visual aids should, as far as practicable, be removed.

4.4.2 Recommendation.— Anything which may, in the opinion of the appropriate authority after aeronautical study,
endanger aeroplanes on the movement area or in the air within the limits of the inner horizontal and conical surfaces should be
regarded as an obstacle and should be removed in so far as practicable.

...these are the NDs: ref - http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/..._Vol_1.pdf

4.4.1 - ...The effect of these objects must be assessed, particularly if they are within the ILS critical or sensitive areas.

4.4.2 - ...Australia does not have any legal authority outside of the aerodrome boundary...

That of course brings us back to the DFO accident at Essendon but first another relevant reference from page 36 of the CofFEE report:

...Australia agreed to a second safety oversight audit in 2012, which was carried out in 2017. As

part of this, Australia participated in an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM). The
ICVM is one of the activities prescribed under the CMA framework. This involved a team of
experts visiting Australia and working with Australian regulators and operators to measure and
improve compliance with ICAO Standards. Much of the work was on improving Australia’s
response to USOAP F&Rs from previous audits...

   
Which brought this 2008 finding to our attention:    




And then this follow up in the March 2018 ICAO ICVM audit report:



This inevitably brings me back to to evidence given at Budget Estimates nearly two years ago:

Senator XENOPHON: I will ask this of you, Mr Carmody. I do not understand this. Has CASA actually got a view as to what buildings, and what height of buildings or structures, should be near an airport?

Mr Carmody : We certainly do. If I may, we are at cross-purposes here in terms of public safety zones at the end of runways versus buildings on and around airports. We have a very specific view on buildings and on penetrations through the obstacle limitation surface of buildings around airports. We have a very clear view and we are involved in that process. But with the debate on the public safety zone, which is routinely at the end of the runway, I think we are actually talking at cross-purposes in terms of the debate at the moment. We are actively involved if you use Essendon as an example, and the buildings that are onsite at Essendon—or any other airport; Canberra airport, for that matter.

Senator XENOPHON: So you do not have a view?

Mr Carmody : We always have a view. 

Senator XENOPHON: So do you think that building, the DFO at Essendon, with its proximity to the end of the runway, would meet your criteria for fulfilling CASA's views as to the safety criteria for a building of that size, of that height, in that proximity to the runway?

Mr Carmody : Currently, my understanding is that it would. There was a building there prior to the DFO building. Prior to the DFO building process in, I think, 2004 or thereabouts there were buildings that preceded that on the same location.

Senator XENOPHON: You are quite comfortable, if there were going to be another airport plan, that you would not have an issue with a building with that proximity to the runway?

Mr Carmody : On that runway, in that location, I understand it fits within the template. Mr Tiede would be able to correct me if I am incorrect.

Senator XENOPHON: And you set the template? Is that your template?

Mr Tiede : CASA's interest is in the safety-of-air-navigation piece of this.
P2 - Under that logic if it is on the ground and no higher than the 1:7 OLS gradient and outside the airport perimeter fence, which technically the DFO is then CASA doesn't give a rat's - UDB!   ..There are obstacle limitation surfaces, in very broad description, around an airport, starting from the runway out to 15 kilometres, like an upside-down wedding cake. The take-off climb surface extends off the runway in a straight ahead thing for 15 kilometres, climbing at a slope that is dependent on the specification of the runway. So this, in significant part, overlies the public safety zone, third-party protection apparatus that is talked about. The DFO complex fits under the obstacle limitation surfaces, and so it meets the regulatory—

Senator XENOPHON: Do those obstacle limitation surfaces need to be reviewed in light of the DFO accident?

Mr Tiede : The obstacle limitation surfaces are drawn from some quite detailed ICAO specifications—International Civil Aviation Organization specifications—that are very detailed and very longstanding. We model our regulations on that information. ICAO is in a process of reviewing the OLS. The issue with that, of course, is that any outcomes are some time downstream. CASA participates in that work of ICAO as a member of the working group that is looking at this.

Senator XENOPHON: But you are not bound by ICAO? Or are you saying you are bound by ICAO in terms of recommendations for buildings in proximity to airports?

Mr Tiede : These are standards of ICAO that, yes, we have incorporated into our laws. We follow the ICAO specifications in their Annex 14, their aerodromes annex. We transfer.

Mr Carmody : We routinely follow their standards and recommended practices, unless we notify a difference. In this particular case, too, with Essendon, I might add that part of this discussion would depend upon the results of the investigation, at the end of the day.

Senator XENOPHON: So if the ATSB says, 'We need to review public safety zones—

Mr Carmody : I would be very interested if they came out with something like that. At the moment, the investigation is afoot, I understand. I do not know what the cause of the accident was. I know what the consequences were. But I think that that is part of the picture.

Senator XENOPHON: There is always the cause, but would the outcome have been different if that building were not in the way?

Mr Carmody : And that is correct. - 

Senator XENOPHON: And it also is those on the ground, in that building. 

Hmm...and what have we done in the nearly two years since, in terms of mitigating the risk of a far more lethal crash potentially with far more casualties at the Essendon DFO complex?  - SFA that's what...   

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Non-compliance with ICAO Annex 14 - Part III.

Moving right along with the NCN list for ICAO Annex 14; I go now to volume 2 of Annex 14 which of course deals with helicopter landing sites or heliports - see HERE. Referring to the ASA GEN 1.7 list for the notified differences for Annex 14 volume II, there is currently 87 pages: http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/..._Vol_2.pdf

Being a smaller SARP, plus given the smaller aviation safety niche, I naively assumed that volume II would have less non-compliances than volume I. Therefore I was extremely dismayed to discover that Annex 14 Vol II outstripped Vol I by approximately 100 notified differences...  

What is worse is there is not one ND that didn't exceed (improve) on the difference level of...

"..Less protective or partially implemented not implemented.."  

And the reason for that is because apparently anything that is outside of a Federally leased; or CASA certified ALOP airport perimeter fence is not within their remit; or the concern/responsiblity of CASA - UFB!   

This bizarre situation where the aviation safety regulator's oversight responsibilities apparently stop at the airport fence and airspace boundaries is perfectly highlighted in the recently publicly released consultation company AviPro's review of the proposed HLS for the new Tweed Heads hospital: ref - https://majorprojects.accelo.com/public/...iation.pdf
 

Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)

Engagement with CASA is not a normal part of an application for a development. CASA is normally only informed by AirServices Australia if there is deemed to be a risk to safety for a development.

HLS Compliance and Standards

Currently within Australia, there are no set rules or regulations applicable to the design, construction or placement of HLS’. The appropriate legislation at present for the use of HLS’ is Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR) 92 which places the onus on the helicopter pilot to determine the suitability of a landing site.

CASA, as the regulator of aviation in Australia, divested itself of direct responsibility in the early 1990s and currently provides only basic operating guidelines via Civil Aviation Advisory Publication (CAAP) 92-2 (2) Guidelines for the Establishment and Operation of Onshore Helicopter Landing Sites.

CASA does not provide design, structural information or advice beyond that provided in the CAAP.

CASA, as a component of a Regulatory Reform Program, does propose to prepare rules for helicopter landing sites and currently has a panel established for this purpose. The new rules will form Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 139R, however it is not expected that they will be completed any time soon.   If and when they are introduced, there will be an implementation phase and “grandfather” clauses...

    
Hmm..new rules will form Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 139R...yet again Part 139 features?? One gets the impression that once totally completed Part 139 will be the ultimate behemoth of CASA regulations.

But why does the Part 139 reference ring a bell? 

PING!   From the Senate Estimates archive records: ref - Supp Estimates October 2012 https://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Estimates...ent_a.ashx

Man Made Obstacles Located Away From Aerodromes - Risk review

Developed for CASA by AeroSafe Risk Management.

November 2009

Recommendations

Using the findings listed above and the treatment strategies outlined in the Risk Assessment Table the following recommendations have been developed. There are a total of 10 recommendations. The complex nature of the issues outlined in this report and the potential solutions are such that the recommendations have been represented in the following format:

• Legislative Framework
• Regulatory Structure
• Advisory Material
• Administration

Legislative Framework

R - 1 Authority to make Regulations: That the Civil Aviation Act is reviewed in the context of ensuring that CASA has the power to make regulations specifically concerning buildings, structures and objects that are located away from the vicinity of a certified or registered aerodrome.

R - 2 Removal of Compensation Requirements: That the Civil Aviation Act 1988 is reviewed in the context of removing the requirement to provide compensation for the installation of marking and/or lighting on buildings, structures and objects that have been determined to be a hazard to aviation.

Regulatory Structure

R - 3 Option 1 – Creation of Part 77 Objects that Affect Navigable Airspace

This option is designed to group all obstacle related regulation within one CASR Part. It is proposed that this CASR Part is designated CASR Part 77. This brings the regulation of obstacles in Australia in line with the regulatory structure applied in the United States and New Zealand.

For this option it is recommended that:

• CASA to start the process of developing new a CASR Part 77 that satisfies the recommendations outlined in ICAO Annex 14 Chapter 4
• the scope of the new CASR Part 77 includes all obstacles whether within the vicinity of an aerodrome or outside the vicinity of an aerodrome and the obstacle requirements and marking and lighting standards set out in CASR Part 139 be transferred to the new CASR Part 77
• the new CASR Part 77 include the standards for the notification of structures, buildings and objects that are in line with FAR Part 77
• the new CASR Part 77 include the following elements...

R- 3 Option 2 – Expansion of Part 139 to include Obstacles that are located away from the
vicinity of aerodromes

This option is designed to ensure that the current CAR Part 139 – Aerodromes sufficiently satisfies the ICAO requirements both for obstacles within the vicinity of aerodromes and for obstacles located away from the vicinity of aerodromes.
For this option it is recommended that:

• That CASA to start the process of updating CASR Part 139 to ensure it satisfies the recommendations outlined in ICAO Annex 14 Chapter 4
• That the scope of CASR Part 139 is expanded to include all obstacles whether within the vicinity of an aerodrome or outside the vicinity of an aerodrome.
• That CASR Part 139 Subpart E is expanded to include the standards for the notification of structures, buildings and objects that are in line with FAR Part 77
• That CASR Part 139 Subpart E is expanded to include the following elements...
 

Hmm...how did we get from November 2009 with a regulator that was proactively putting forward recommendations to effectively mitigate safety risk and oversight aviation safety issues outside the airport perimeter fence, to the situation today where it is apparently acceptable to have 1000s of innocent public, totally oblivious to the latent safety risk of shopping at a DFO complex next to an active runway handling high capacity jet aircraft each day - UDB...    


MTF...P2 

Addendum: Somewhat depressing but with some interesting parallels when you check out CAA NZed's Part 77 - see HERE. Note that the Part 77 was originally promulgated in 1997.

77.1 Purpose (a) Subject to paragraph (b), this Part prescribes rules for persons within the territorial limits of New Zealand, including the New Zealand Defence Force, proposing— (1) to construct or alter a structure that could constitute a hazard in navigable airspace; 

  
Also from NZed I note the following blog piece from March 2017 that references the DFO tragedy: 

Runway Safety Extension Areas just 'Speed Bumps' at Wellington Airport



AIRPORT SAFETY COMPROMISED?

When I was over in Australia last week, a light aircraft crashed at Essendon Airport in Melbourne killing the pilot and four passengers but also putting hundreds of people at risk in nearby shopping complexes, workplaces and perimeter roads...

...The disaster has put airport safety under scrutiny, with special concerns arising from the commercialisation of land-use immediately adjoining the runways, as reported in the Melbourne Age  article: ‘Rampant airport development puts thousands in danger: planning expert, residents’

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rampant-airport-development-puts-thousands-in-danger-planning-expert-residents-20170221-guhi6j.html 

...Which brings me back to earth with a bump in Wellington where the Runway Extension Safety Areas [RESAs] are at the very minimum of what is required to meet international standards and the Runway Extension proposed by Wellington International Airport Ltd will worsen rather than improve the situation. 

At the same time, the airport is being increasingly ringed with shopping outlets - quite apart from being a close neighbour to both a major boy’s school and an indoor sports complex that serves the entire city.

As reported in the Dominion Post today [ http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/87647482/caa-must-review-safety-areas-at-wellington-airport-court-of-appeal-rules]

That led me to this blog/forum link: The airport runway end safety area “can of worms”…

And in particular this passage:

The order came after the Airline Pilots' Association challenged the CAA's finding for Wellington Airport's safety area in its proposed runway extension.


The Court of Appeal said the CAA should not consider cost as a substantial factor in determining whether a longer RESA is practicable.

In a letter to Bridges on March 14th, released under the Official Information Act, the NZ Airports Association said the decision could have a “pronounced” impact on New Zealand's air services.

“The outcome may see some airports lose the ability to serve jet traffic and turbo prop services, or operating with significant payload restrictions,” the letter, written by chairman Steve Sanderson and chief executive Kevin Ward said.

“We think the best and most sustainable solution will be to review the intent and the wording of the current [Civil Aviation] Act” to give the CAA the mandate to balance cost with safety in the public interest.

Hmm...now why does that sound so familiar?? - 

[Peetwo]

Reversing through the Swiss Cheese??

Following on from the last under the ICAO Annex 14 minimum standard and recommended practice for RESA it says...

Dimensions of runway end safety areas

3.5.3 A runway end safety area shall extend from the end of a runway strip to a distance of at least 90 m where:
— the code number is 3 or 4; and
— the code number is 1 or 2 and the runway is an instrument one.

If an arresting system is installed, the above length may be reduced, based on the design specification of the system, subject
to acceptance by the State.

Note.— Guidance on arresting systems is given in Attachment A, Section 10. 

3.5.4 Recommendation.— A runway end safety area should, as far as practicable, extend from the end of a runway

strip to a distance of at least:



— 240 m where the code number is 3 or 4; or a reduced length when an arresting system is installed;

— 120 m where the code number is 1 or 2 and the runway is an instrument one; or a reduced length when an arresting

system is installed; and
— 30 m where the code number is 1 or 2 and the runway is a non-instrument one...

And in Australia this is the notified difference (both of which are listed as less protective for those two SARPs:

Australia requires the RESA to be provided at the end of the runway strip and is to extend for the distance of 90m for a code number 3 or 4 runway used by air transport aeroplanes. In all other cases, the minimum length of the RESA is to be 60m for Code 1 or 2 runways.

With that in mind read the following article from two days ago by the Fort Fumble (white hats) at Flight Safety Australia magazine...  

At the sharp end
By staff writers -
May 20, 2019

In a matter of seconds, with incomplete information, a flight crew has to make a life-or-death decision

 Ameristar flight 9363, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA, 8 March 2017

The thing that makes aviation terrifying, or exhilarating, is that every time you advance the throttles to take off you are putting your reputation—not to mention your life—on the line. The impressive statistical safety of commercial flight may obscure this truth but does not cancel it. As the old hands say, ‘you are only as good as your last landing.’ The author Tom Wolfe put it more poetically, but equally accurately, in his phrase, ‘chosen or damned … it blows at any seam’.

The captain of this flight was a 54-year-old man with a solid, if unexceptional, aviation career of more than 15,000 hours. He had nearly 8500 hours in the Douglas DC-9 but was ‘back in school’ on this flight, undergoing type training on the DC-9’s derivative, the MD-83, under the eye of a check airman. This pilot was 41 years old with 9660 hours, also mainly on the DC-9.

From the beginning, it was clear that the afternoon’s flight would present distinct challenges, although nothing its two experienced pilots would not have dealt with over their long careers. It was a very windy day, with gusts of 50 knots, strong enough for the nearby Detroit Metro airport to be using its almost-forgotten east-west runways. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recovered from the wreck of the aircraft showed the two pilots factored weather into their flight plan from the outset.

A completed take-off speed card found on the flight deck showed they calculated V1 (take-off decision speed) at 139 knots, VR (rotation speed) of 142 knots, and V2 (minimum take-off safety speed) of 150 knots.

The CVR recorded the check airman advising the captain to ‘delay rotation until at least V2 … wait for me to call it’.
The captain also briefed about the effect the wind would have should there be an emergency. He emphasised the check airman should ‘really keep an eye out on what our airspeed is doing today. In the event of an engine fire or failure at or after V1, we’re going to continue the take-off … if you get any kind of a [windshear] warning, it’s going to be max thrust, all the way to the firewall thrust. If necessary … we’ll fly out of the shear, back me up on the airspeed calls.’ The captain concurred with the check airman’s briefing that in an emergency they would fly to Metro, rather than attempt a return to Ypsilanti.

At one point in these deliberations, a ground handler entered the flight deck for a sign-off and observed, ‘should be pretty fun getting this thing off the ground huh?’ Behind them, the cabin crew were ordering extra sick bags.

The MD-83 spent about an hour in taxi and holding, partly because high winds had closed the Ypsilanti tower and the flight crew had to broadcast their intentions for departure and obtain clearances by mobile phone. The captain’s brief, bitter and vulgar judgement on this state of affairs (‘what a cluster****!’) was the only utterance on the CVR not consistent with exemplary professionalism. In the light of what happened next, it would be churlish to deny him the momentary pleasure of this outburst.

By 1451:12 the aircraft was lined up for departure from the 2300 metre runway 23L.The check airman called for the captain to begin take-off roll. At 1451:55, the check airman said ‘V1’. Six seconds later (1452:01), he called ‘rotate’ followed three seconds later (1452:04) by ‘V2’. A second after that, the captain said, ‘hey, what’s going on?’, and three seconds later, ‘abort’. The check airman said, ‘no, not above … don’t abort above V1 like that’. The captain’s reply was succinct: ‘It wasn’t flying.’

Without hesitation, the check airman turned his attention to applying maximum reverse thrust, deploying the spoilers and assisting the captain on the wheel brakes. They had committed themselves to a most unenviable situation. At 173 knots, (89 metres/second) with the end of the runway 500 metres ahead, their predicament was exactly as described in the sour old pilot’s joke: they would be the first to arrive at the scene of the crash that was now inevitable. But no later analysis suggested any better decision than the one they had made in under five seconds.

The cabin crew had been similarly observant and decisive. The CVR recorded them in chorus, shouting, ‘Heads down! Stay down!’ as the aircraft sped towards the end of the runway.

The aircraft was travelling about 100 knots when it left the paved surface of runway 23L and overran a blast pad. It then travelled about 300 metres across a grassy surface before striking the airport perimeter fence and hitting a raised, paved road at about 40 knots. It came to a stop, fuselage intact, but on its belly. The check pilot called the cabin: ‘Evacuate! Evacuate! Evacuate!’

It was just over two minutes since take-off began and 19 seconds after the captain called ‘abort’.

Now it was the passengers’ turn to rise to the occasion. They were a college basketball team and staff, on their way to Washington DC, meaning that, unlike a typically composed passenger group, many of them knew each other. The cabin crew told the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation the passengers were ‘incredibly calm and responsive … followed flight attendant directions … and did not take or attempt to take luggage or personal belongings with them’.

After exiting on the slides, the passengers remained orderly and quickly moved away from aircraft. All 110 passengers and six crew survived. There was only one injury—a cut knee that required stitches.

Why it happened

The ‘probable cause’ (in the NTSB’s words) of the crash was clearly visible on the hulk of the aircraft. The right elevator was deflected downward. Investigators found it was jammed and could not be moved by hand. An actuating crank and links were found locked over-centre beyond their normal range of travel and had been bent.

Analysis of the flight data recorder (FDR), which was recovered undamaged, showed the right elevator had been deflected 16 degrees down and even after the captain pulled strenuously on the yoke, had risen to no more than 13 degrees down.

The aircraft had been parked at Ypsilanti for two days, sheltered from the winds by an unusually large hangar (a building which had been part of the gigantic Ford Willow Run factory that made bombers during World War II). The combination of strong westerly winds and the building’s size had generated local turbulence, including vertical gusts which had moved the right elevator’s actuating crank and links beyond their normal range of travel and locked them over-centre. A computer simulation confirmed this.

The MD-83’s elevator design dates back to the Douglas DC-9 of 1965 and uses neither hydraulic power nor gust locks. Instead, the elevators are damped and moved by tabs, similar to the trim tabs of smaller aircraft. It is these tabs that are attached to the control yokes by unpowered pulleys and cables. When the crew had, quite correctly, made a full-and-free-movement control check before take-off, the tabs had responded perfectly. The NTSB concluded the deflection and damage on the T-tailed MD-83’s right elevator, 10 metres above the ground, could not have been detected in the crew’s walk-around.

The NTSB found the right elevator’s jammed condition ‘rendered the airplane unable to rotate during take-off’. Esteem for the crew shines through the deliberately bland and neutral language of the report. ‘The captain’s decision to reject the take-off was both quick and appropriate,’ and ‘the check airman demonstrated disciplined restraint in a challenging situation’.

‘Had the check airman simply reacted and assumed control of the airplane after the captain decided to reject, the results could have been catastrophic.’

The NTSB also noted how the airport’s runway safety area (RSA) had been upgraded to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards. The improvements included removing a taxiway, relocating the perimeter fence and road, filling in a 10-metre ravine (which might have broken the aircraft’s fuselage as has often happened in other overrun crashes), moving or making frangible approach lighting systems, and removing structures and concrete markers. The project had cost $US20 million, with the US Federal Government paying $19 million.

However, there were unresolved safety issues—how to identify jammed elevators on the DC-9/MD-80/Boeing 717 series was one. Others included the potential inadequacy of ground gust limit loads for the certification of transport-category aircraft, the lack of procedures for operators to monitor the wind that affects parked aircraft, and evacuation slide malfunction. The front right slide had not inflated, and the tail cone exit door had been jammed, briefly, by a seatbelt.

The combination of factors that had produced the crash was a textbook example of James Reason’s Swiss cheese analogy. Small holes aligned in layer after layer of supposedly impregnable defences, allowing chaos to sneak through. As the NTSB said, ‘Rarely could all of the safeguards in place to ensure an airplane is airworthy before departure (such as proper aircraft maintenance, pre-flight inspections, and control checks) fail to detect that an airplane was incapable of flight, as occurred with the jammed elevator on the accident airplane. Perhaps even more remarkable was that a flight crew would be placed in a situation in which the airplane’s inability to fly would not be discoverable until after it had accelerated past V1 during a take-off roll.’

But it is important to remember that Swiss cheese theory also works in reverse. Well-trained crews on the flight deck and in the cabin, disciplined passengers, and an airport operator that took its runway safety obligations seriously, had downgraded a tragedy into a hull loss and an anecdote to thrill future generations. The basketball team caught another flight and won their game.

 
The Swiss cheese in reverse: "....and an airport operator that took its runway safety obligations seriously, had downgraded a tragedy into a hull loss and an anecdote to thrill future generations..."

The ICAO SARPs are generally regarded as the minimum recommended standard that a signatory State should be complying with. How have we got to the point in Australia where we are actively encouraging to set safety risk mitigation standards below even the minimum recommended international practice...  

TICK...TOCK miniscule - whom ever you maybe??  

MTF..P2  

[Peetwo]

Approaching another decade of Iron Ring rule? 

Reference:

Pel-Air: A coverup: a litany of lies? - Version III

Chronology; colour coded to help with making your mind up.

Green - Go head.

Amber - proceed with caution.

Red - Stop and think about it. - Handing over::::-

Pel-Air ATSB/CASA Investigation (AO-2009-072) Chronology from 18/11/2009

– 30/11/2017:

---

23 September 1999: Qantas Flight 1 overshoots runway at Bangkok. (ref - #221 & https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1999/AAIR/aair199904538.aspx )

---

11 March 2003: 2nd phase of cooperative Qantas/CASA/University of SA FRMS study.(see links above & https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl...on-162972/)

---

18 November 2009: Ditching 3 NM south-west of Norfolk Island Aerodrome.

---

18 November 2009: ATSB notified of accident and ATSB subsequently notify CASA. The
ATSB decide to carry out an investigation and CASA decide to run a parallel
investigation, initiated 19 November.

---

19 November 2009: Pel-Air voluntarily suspend Westwind operation.

---

20 November 2009: Quote from page 97 of PelAir MKII Final report - "The ATSB asked CAAF for ATS records for the flight and the weather information that was provided to the flight crew of VH-NGA. CAAF forwarded the request to the ATS provider and then obtained the records in December 2009 to pass on to the ATSB. This included copies of the 0630 METAR, 0800 SPECI and 0830 SPECI."

---

23 November 2009: Richard White MALIU correspondence to ATSB Director Aviation Safety Investigations, Ian Sangston notifying CASA will be conducting a regulatory investigation into the actions of the flightcrew. Note that there is no reference to 'parallel investigations' under either the 2004 or 2010 MOU (ref link - #122 &  #28).

---

23 November 2009: Richard White receives from Airservices Australia  the complete list of Norfolk Island Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) applicable to the occurrence flight timeframe. This included the Nadi non-relayed 0803 AMD TAF, which appears to be underlined (ref link - #122 & #85 )

---

25 November 2009: Greg Hood file note email (cc'd Jonathon Aleck, Terry Farquharson, John McCormick.). File note No.4 reference to flight recorder recovery would appear to show, at that point in time, that recovery was inevitable (ref link - #125 )

---

26 November 2009: CASA initiate a ‘Special Audit’ conducted between the 26/11/2009-
15/12/2009 at the Pel-Air Bases in Sydney, Adelaide and Nowra.

---

30 November 2009: Richard White email to John Barr (cc Roger Chambers) confirming Airservices passed on weather & received flight plan details from PIC Dominic James by phone in Apia. (ref link - #122 )  

---

7 December 2009: Audit team meet with Pel-Air management to discuss a number of
deficiencies within the Westwind Operation. This was backed up by correspondence from
CASA on 9/12/2009.

---

7 December 2009: FAA/ICAO brief on 'next steps' after poor results/findings in the ICAO USOAP 2008 & FAA Nov 30- Dec 4 2009 Australian audits. (ref links - #53 & WikiLeaks cable PDF: http://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/2...ileaks.pdf

---

8 December 2009: E-mail from ATSB to CASA raising the possibility of contributing to a
joint fund sharing arrangement to recover the black box and CASA advised they didn’t
have the necessary funds.

---

11 December: Advice from the UK Civil Aviation Authority to CASA providing an assessment of the fatigue scores for the accidental flight (ref link - #122 & PDF 881KB )  

---

16 December 2009: CASA accept the Pel-Air ‘Management Action Plan’ which consisted
of three phases.

---

16 December 2009: Dominic James was 'informally' interviewed by CASA  legal and investigative officers. (ref link - #112 )

---

18 December 2009: Pel-Air successfully completed Phase 1 items and were able to
recommence domestic operations.

---

21 December 2009: CASA Special Audit of Pel-Air Fatigue Risk Management System ( ref links - #217 & PDF 5428KB )

---

23-24 December 2009: CASA overseeing FOI of Pel-Air Eric Demarco issues 14 RCA and
a number of AO. The RCAs needed to be acquitted by 28/01/2010.

---

24th December 2009: Dominic James notice of suspension of CPL, ATPL, CIR pursuant
to CAR 265(1)(a). Also given notice to undertake examinations under CAR 5.38.

---

24 December 2009: Pel-Air successfully completed Phase 2 items and were able to
recommence international operations.

---

8 January 2010: CASA issue 7 more RCAs and several more AO, all of which Roger
Chambers the Audit Coordinator signed on behalf of several SAR team members.

---

8 January 2010: Audit Report completed.

---

13 January 2010: ATSB issue preliminary report AO-2009-072.

---

 1 February 2010: Quote from TSBC report ".. the team leader and the general manager (GM) decided to provide CASA with a briefing on the perceived safety issue. The briefing was held by video conference on 03 February 2010. On 12 February, the primary contact at CASA followed up with a phone call to the IIC asking the ATSB to send a letter describing the safety issue.

---

3 February 2010: Video conference meeting between the ATSB and CASA to discuss
critical safety issue.

---

4 February 2010: Internal CASA email ATSB identification of a 'critical safety issue' may have ramification for CASA actions in relation to Mr James (ref links - #217 & PDF 913KB )

---

9 February 2010: Internal ATSB email regarding the ATSB and CASA's approach to the Pel-Air investigation (ref links - #217 & PDF 1093KB )

---

12 February 2010: Mr R White ALIU Manager contacts Mr Michael Watson the ATSB
‘investigator in charge’ to request a supporting letter that described the critical safety
issue.

---

15 February 2010: ATSB create a PDF of the Preliminary Report to forward to ICAO ADREP database office. However it would appear that this PDF copy was not forwarded to ICAO until 10 November 2015. (ref link - #149 & ICAO1 ) Ps The original VH-NGA Final Report was never forwarded to ICAO.

---

26 February 2010: Mr Sangston Director of Aviation Safety Investigations writes to Mr
White addressing the critical safety issue with the requested supporting documentation.

---

19 March 2010: CASA LSD draw up and distribute ‘AT10-23 NORFOLK ISLAND SAFETY
ISSUE LEGAL DRAFT 19 MARCH.doc’.

---

20 March 2010: CASA internal e-mail that highlighted a 50:50 split within the CASA
inspectorate on when to divert to an alternate.

---

23 March 2010: ‘AT10-23 NORFOLK ISLAND SAFETY ISSUE LEGAL DRAFT 19
MARCH.doc’ approved for Mr White to send by CASA Corporate Relations and Strategy
(i.e. Grima and co).

---

23 March 2010: Dominic James licenses cancellation matter (CAR 265(1) (a)) was
originally set down for mention in the AAT.

---

26 March 2010: Mr White and CASA initial response to critical safety issue.

---

31 March 2010: ATSB e-mail Mr White ALIU Manager requesting information under S32
on Pel-Air’s Air Ambulance classification of Operations and Noumea French regulator
restrictions on Pel-Air Operations. Note: There is no record/copy of this e-mail.

---

14 April 2010: Mr White’s replies to ATSB e-mail 31 March 2010. Reference Senate
Inquiry page under ‘Additional information’ item 3.

---

22 April 2010: Follow-up meeting between ATSB and CASA (John Grima and co) on the
CSI matter was held in CASA’s Woden, ACT offices. Reference AQON 22/10/12 ATSB
(Hansard, pg 66).

---

10 May 2010: 'Special Fatigue Audit: Jetstar' the 'Cook report' was released (ref links - #219 & PDF 5210KB )

---

26 May 2010: At a 'regular' meeting between John McCormick (former CASA DAS) and Martin Dolan (former ATSB Chief Commissioner), McCormick advised Dolan that in light of the ongoing PelAir parallel investigation, that CASA would be conducting an internal review of it's audit and surveillance processes.(ref link - #97)  

---

27 May 2010: The Hon Anthony Albanese MP and former Minister for Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development  officially opens the REX Australian Airline Pilot Academy. (ref link - #97)  

---

11 June 2010: Correspondence from CASA ALC (assigned legal counsel) Joe Rule to DJ Legal Counsel in reply to questions asked on the DJ FCL suspension in the lead up to a proposed AAT hearing. This 'answering' correspondence would appear to indicate that CASA LSD were also misled in relation to the 0803 AMD TAF. (ref link - #109 & http://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/2....6.101.pdf )  

---

15 June 2010: ATSB receive e-mail from Pel-Air detailing actions done in response to
CASA Special Audit.

---

21 July 2010: CAIR 09/3 completed.

---

28 July 2010:  Quote from TSBC peer review report - "On 28 July 2010, CASA briefed the ATSB on the findings of its regulatory investigation into the ditching, which it had done in parallel with the ATSB investigation.Footnote 12 "The team leader obtained a copy of the CASA investigation report in March 2011."

---

1 August 2010: 'Chambers report' created (ref link - #217 ) 18 August 2010: Internal CASA email regarding the discussion with the ATSB over the content of the ATSB report (ref links - #217 & PDF 1193KB )

---

11 January 2011: CASA email chain, initiated by Roger Chambers,  on Dominic James CEP (Coordinated Enforcement Process) . Highlights one of the many times the CEP was varied and the senior management ranks that had a vested interest in the PelAir ditching matter. (ref link - #98 )

---

18 March 2011: Tabled document received from Senator Xenophon in Canberra. Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) report titled on 'Special Fatigue Audit: Jetstar' (ref links - #219 & PDF 5210KB ) 

---

18 March 2011: Pilot Training Inquiry QON asked in the course of public hearing (ref links - #219 & QON 18/03/2011 )

---

March 2011: (see 28 July 2010 ref above)

---

5 August 2011: With little to no fanfare CASA DAS John McCormick issues a regulatory policy directive ( ref link - #74  & Download das-pn015-2010.pdf)  titled "ATSB Cooperation Policy". Appears to be a threat to any CASA Officers not to talk out of school to the ATSB. 

---

11 November 2011: Former Pel-Air Chief Pilot and recently appointed CASA FOI
(February 2011) Mr. Wickham participates (observer) in a CASA approval process for a
Pel-Air Check Pilot. Note: Wickham originally applied for a position with CASA as a Flight
Training Examiner in August 2010.

---

26 March 2012: Mr Sangston approves Final Report draft release to the directly involved
parties (DIP) for comment on its factual accuracy. Comments were requested from DIP
by 23 April 2012.

---

24 May 2012: Internal ATSB email- reviewer wanting to look more closely at FRMS and re-interview pilots (ref links - #217 & PDF 535KB )

---

24 May 2012: Internal ATSB email- reviewer indicating they can't deviate at this point and they have to work with what they have (ref links -  #217 & PDF 360KB )

---

27 March 2012: CASA Delegate Greg Hood signs a 'notice of variation' & 'notice of revocation' correspondence to Dominic James . This notice was supported by, a Hood signed, Roger Chambers authored  'Standard Form Recommendation'. (ref link - http://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/FOI4.pdf )

---

30 March 2012: Roger Chambers correspondence to CASA (cast of thousands) officers involved in DJ CEP, notifying for administrative purposes the Hood signed 27 March 2012 notice. (ref link - #98 & #100 )

---

30 June 2012: Roger Chambers correspondence to DJ notifying him that omission of the agreed conditions on his FCL is illegal and those conditions will now have to be published on his FCL. This notice gave DJ seven days to respond. (ref link - #103 )  

---

4 July 2012: The ATSB requested a copy of the CASA special audit report under a
section 32 notice. A copy of the report was received on 9 July 2012.

---

16 July 2012: Draft 2 issued to DIP.

---

18 July 2012: Roger Chambers recommendation to add conditions to DJ FCL. Included a Roger Chambers authored SFR that was not signed by CASA Delegate. (ref link - #103 & http://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Dominic-James-documents-released-19-Oct-17-Volume-1.pdf )

---

July-Aug 2012: REX Airlines declares political donations of 250K to the ALP; 95.7K to the Nationals; & 40K to the Liberals (ref link - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-24/ae...le/7959394 & #94)

---

6 August 2012:  Internal ATSB email regarding the inconsistency in safety knowledge of ATSB staff ( ref links - #217 & PDF 1597KB )

---

8 August 2012: Flight Nurse Karen Casey submits an FOI request with CASA FOI Legal
Services Division asking for a copy of the CASA Special Audit Report.

---

16 August 2012: ATSB Commission approve s25 release of Final Report AO-2009-072
and officially reclassify the ‘safety issue’ to minor.

---

30 August 2012: ATSB Final Report AO-2009-072 released.

---

31 August 2012: Final Report amended and re-issued.

---

3 September 2012: 4 Corners ‘Crash Landing’ program goes to air 8:30pm.

---

12 September 2012: E-mail chain (Carmody and Dolan) discussing Senator Xenophon’s
proposal for a possible Senate Inquiry into the ATSB Final report AO-2009-072 (the
tendentious bloggers e-mail).

---

13 September 2012: Senate referred the Aviation Accident Investigations (Pel-Air) to
the Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport for inquiry
and report.

---

26 September 2012: CASA FOI and Finance officer (LSD) Jennifer Smith-Roberts
releases a redacted version of the CASA SAR to Karen Casey.

---

26 September 2012: RRAT committee request ATSB for documents to assist the
committee with its inquiry.

---

3 October 2012: Reply from ATSB (Dolan) to committee correspondence requesting
documentation.

---

10 October 2012: Ten documents, including the infamous Chambers Report, were received (presumably sent anonymously) by the RRAT Committee Secretariat in relation to the Senate AAI Inquiry. However these documents were not formally tabled till the day before the extraordinary 15 February 2013 public hearing. (ref link - #24 )    

---

19 October 2012: ATSB send RRAT Committee correspondence and attachment in
response to submissions from Aherne, Quinn and Currall, which had been approved by
the committee to be publicly available.

---

22 October 2012: First Public Hearing for Senate ‘Aviation Accident Investigations’
Inquiry.

---

6 March 2014: Senator Xenophon's CAO 48.1 disallowance motion gets voted down in the Senate (ref Hansard: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genp...tion%2Fpdf & http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sear...%2F0120%22 )

---

10 November 2015: PDF copy of 2010 AO-2009-072 Preliminary report ( Aus_Isreal_VH-NGA_18Nov2009_prelim.pdf) is bizarrely modified and added (2126 days after it was created) to the ICAO iSTAR/ADREP database by the ATSB REPCON Manager Elaine Hargreaves. (ref links - 15 February 2010 entry & #56 + https://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking.../17/52003/) 

---

24 October 2017: The CASA Board has directed that an independent review of the fatigue rules for operators and pilots contained in Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 48.1 Instrument 2013 will be undertaken in 2017 as a result of feedback received from various sections of the aviation industry.

---

30 November 2017: Quote from CASA FOI Officer David Gobbitt correspondence email to Dominic James - "I have not been able to locate a signed copy of the SFR...However, as stated by Adam Anastasi in his email to you dated 27 October 2017, even if the delegate had not signed the SFR, the fact of the delegate sending the decision letter to you on 24 December 2009 would clearly have signified that the delegate accepted the recommendations in the SFR..." (ref - #126 & #331.)

Earlier in the week the following email was sent to a number of IOS and BRB members:

Subject: FAA's view of CASA

Safety fears came close to freezing air route
Dylan Welch September 1, 2011

THE United States was so concerned about the state of Australia's air safety system in 2009 that it considered freezing flights from Australia to the US, a downgrade that normally only affects countries from the developing world.

The revelation, in a US State Department cable released this week by WikiLeaks, discussed a recent safety inspection by the US's Federal Aviation Authority, which audits countries whose carriers fly to the United States to ensure they meet appropriate safety standards.

In the cable, from December 2009, it is revealed the FAA told Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority that Australia could face a downgrade to ''Category 2'' due to a shortage of properly trained safety inspectors and too much delegation of CASA's regulatory function to carriers.
Advertisement: Story continues below

A Category 2 rating suggests the FAA believed the country's safety regime does not meet international standards. It is a category mainly used for countries in the developing world.

''A downgrade to Category 2 would be the worst-case scenario, which would entail measures such as freezing Australia-US flight operations to current levels and terminating code-sharing arrangements, such as the one between Qantas and American Airlines,'' the cable stated.

''CASA officials are not taking this possibility lightly and seem committed to resolve the shortcomings in order to avoid a downgrade.''

The findings resulted from a five-day safety audit by the FAA in late 2009, which found ''significant shortcomings'' in CASA's maintenance of the Australian aviation regulatory system.

CASA has been criticised for delegating too much of its regulatory obligations to the flight carriers in the past and the FAA audit may have been the last straw.

In the 2010 budget, the government announced a large funding increase for CASA.

The FAA audit may also help explain why CASA was so severe when cracking down on Tiger earlier this year.

Trying to understand the significance of this archived media article I suddenly realised that we are approaching the 10th Anniversary of the infamous, obfuscated and potentially (at the time) embarrassing FAA audit...  

This prompted me to reply to the email and to put out on social media the following...  

Interesting:

Dylan Welch
Dylan Welch is a reporter for ABC Investigations. A former Afghanistan correspondent for Reuters and a national security and crime reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's The Age, he was co-nominated for a Walkley Award for investigative reporting in 2011 for stories about the secretive NSW Crime Commission. You can contact him at welch.dylan@abc.net.au, Twitter @dylanwelch, and Signal at +61 481 728 943 (messages only). For secure communication please read this: https://pastebin.com/raw/rA9XumZ2
Contact Dylan Welch

I wonder if Dylan Welch would like an update on the current state of affairs within the Australian aviation safety system? i.e. nothing has changed

For his reference:
 

US fears about Australian airlines' safety revealed http://www.traveller.com.au/us-fears-abo...aled-1jlkt via @TravellerAU

US fears about Australian airlines' safety revealed
Dylan Welch




[img=0x0]http://www.traveller.com.au/content/dam/images/1/j/l/n/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.1jlkt.png/1314774111850.jpg[/img]Safety concern ... Wikileaks reveals the US Federal Aviation Authority found 'significant shortcomings' with Australian airline safety. Photo: James Alcock
[size=undefined]The US was so concerned about the state of Australia's air safety system in 2009 that it considered downgrading Australian airlines flying to the US.

The revelation, in a US State Department cable released this week by WikiLeaks, discussed a safety inspection by the US's Federal Aviation Authority, which audits countries whose carriers fly to the United States to ensure they meet appropriate safety standards.[/size]
[size=undefined]
In the cable, written in December 2009, it is revealed the FAA told Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) that Australia could face a downgrade to "Category 2" due to a shortage of properly trained safety inspectors and too much delegation of CASA's regulatory function to carriers.

A Category 2 rating suggests that FAA believes the country's safety regime does not meet international standards. It is a category mainly used for countries in the developing world.

"A downgrade to Category 2 would be the worst-case scenario, which would entail measures such as freezing Australia-US flight operations to current levels and terminating code-sharing arrangements, such as the one between Qantas and American Airlines," the cable stated.
[/size]

A downgrade to Category 2 would be the worst-case scenario, which would entail measures such as freezing Australia-US flight operations to current levels and terminating code-sharing arrangements.

[size=undefined]
"CASA officials are not taking this possibility lightly and seem committed to resolve the shortcomings in order to avoid a downgrade."[/size]

Read more: http://www.traveller.com.au/us-fears-about-australian-airlines-safety-revealed-1jlkt#ixzz5rXGidhsn 
Follow us: @TravellerAU on Twitter | TravellerAU on Facebook

How things have changed - NOT! @dylanwelch RT: Dear Lachie I & II https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...74#pid8374 & http://www.auntypru.com/forum/showthread...73#pid8873 + https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...82#pid8182
Plus: https://auntypru.com/?s=essendon+dfo+accident

Rgds P2.

   
In the lead up to this historical but almost totally obfuscated event; AP will do a series of exposé posts and endeavour to join some more dots and fill in a few more of the gaps on the TOE (timeline of embuggerance) chronology (above)...  


MTF...P2  

[Peetwo]

PNG AIC gold star award for AAI into Air Nuigini Flt 73 - 





Refer to the PNG AIC Air Nuigini Flight 73 report and reference from page 15, plus recommendation 9 page 71: https://auntypru.com/wp-admin/upload.php?item=4254 

1.10.3 Airport Emergency Plan Manual

The investigation found that the Chuuk International Airport, Airport Emergency Plan (AEP) and rescue and fire-fighting resources did not meet the ICAO Annex 14 Volume 1, Standards with respect to responding to accidents occurring in water adjacent to the aerodrome.

The AEP that was current at the time of the accident was dated 9/11/2011. (11 September 2011)

The AEP did not meet documentation convention (Standards) as required by ICAO:

• it was not a controlled copy;
• it did not have a version number and issue date on each page; and
• there was no amendment sheet for listing amendments.

The AEP procedures were inadequate for use in an emergency operation, especially during a rescue operation involving an aircraft accident in water.

The last emergency exercise conducted prior to the accident was in August 2017. It was conducted on land and within the airport perimeter.

The post-exercise report did not provide evidence that the airport emergency response equipment and personnel would be effective in handling an actual emergency situation that might occur outside the airport perimeter “in water”. The report mentioned the Pohnpei and Kosrae airports, but also did not address the exercising of the AEP outside the airport perimeter of those airports.

Article 38 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation imposes an obligation on Contracting States to notify ICAO of differences between their national regulations and practices and the International Standards contained in the Annex and any amendments thereto if the State cannot comply with a Standard.

Furthermore, the provisions of Annex 15 require the publication of differences between a State’s national regulations and practices and the related ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices through the Aeronautical Information Service, in addition to the obligation of States under Article 38 of the Convention...etc

---

4.2.9 Recommendation number AIC 19-R08/18-100482 to Federated States of Micronesia, Division of Civil Aviation.

On 8 February 2019 the PNG AIC issued the following recommendation:

The PNG Accident Investigation Commission recommends that the Federated States of Micronesia, Division of Civil Aviation, as a contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation:

(a) should ensure that Chuuk International Airport meets ICAO Annex 14 Standards with respect to Airport Emergency Planning and specialist rescue services (equipment and personnel) for an emergency situation that might occur outside the airport perimeter in water; or
(b) should ensure that if the State is unable to comply with the Standards of Annex 14 as identified in (a) above, it will file the difference with ICAO between a State’s national regulations and practices and the related ICAO Annex 14 Standards and Recommended Practices, and publish the filed difference(s) through the Aeronautical Information Service.

& the response:

4.2.9.1 Federated States of Micronesia, Division of Civil Aviation Safety Action

On 7 May 2019, the Federated States of Micronesia, Division of Civil Aviation informed the PNG Accident Investigation Commission of its safety action to address the safety deficiencies identified in Safety Recommendation AIC 19-R08/18-1004.

The FSM DCA provided copies of the Notification of Differences filed with the International Civil Aviation with respect to the State’s inability to meet the ICAO Annex 14 Standards for Airport Emergency Planning and specialist rescue services (equipment and personnel) for an emergency situation that might occur outside the airport perimeter in water. The FSM DCA also notified ICAO of difference relating to the State’s inability to meet the ICAO Annex 14 Standard for Runway Safety End Area at Chuuk International Airport runways 04/22.

On 8 May 2019, the FSM DCA informed the AIC that they were progressing having these differences publishing in the State’s Aeronautical Information Service documents, and raising with the US FAA for issuing NOTAMs.

The statement about notifying a difference on the RESA SARP is interesting because Australia also has a notified a difference on the RESA SARP:

Annex 14 Para 3.5.4 & 3.5.5

3.5.4 Recommendation.— A runway end safety area should, as far as practicable, extend from the end of a runway

strip to a distance of at least:
— 240 m where the code number is 3 or 4; or a reduced length when an arresting system is installed;
— 120 m where the code number is 1 or 2 and the runway is an instrument one; or a reduced length when an arresting
system is installed; and
— 30 m where the code number is 1 or 2 and the runway is a non-instrument one.
3.5.5 The width of a runway end safety area shall be at least twice that of the associated runway.

(Note 3.5.5 is particularly relevant to the latest proposed YMEN master plan: see https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...0#pid10430 )

---

The ND: Australia requires the RESA to be provided at the end of the runway strip and is to extend for the distance of 90m for a code number 3 or 4 runway used by air transport aeroplanes. In all other cases, the minimum length of the RESA is to be 60m for Code 1 or 2 runways.

Ref: Pg 10 NDs to Annex 14 Vol 1: http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/..._Vol_1.pdf

As pointed out in earlier posts this ND is in stark contrast to the USA and other 1st world countries where if an airport can't comply they will have a compliant arresting system. Or in the case of ICAO States with limited resources like Micronesia they will notify a difference and/or NOTAM/AIP the reduction in ICAO safety standards for the particular airport.   

Further to this excellent PNG AIC investigated and identified holes in the Swiss cheese I cannot help but be reminded of the Senator Fawcett questioning of the Dept of Infrastructure (in relation to PelAir ditching) in the JSCOT inquiry - see here: https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...44#pid5144 and here: https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...29#pid8829 and the findings that followed.

Deviation from the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards

2.27 Article 38 of the Chicago Convention requires a Party to notify the ICAO when it finds it impractical to comply in all respects with international standards and practices, and when it is unable to change its standards and practices to comply with standards and practices revised by the ICAO.36

2.28 Both Serbia and Vanuatu have formally notified the ICAO of differences with the ICAO standards. The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development advised that Serbia has lodged 183 substantive differences and Vanuatu has lodged 82 substantive differences with the ICAO.37

2.29 According to the Department, substantive differences can involve a State being deficient in an ICAO Standard, meeting an ICAO Standard using a method different to that stated in the Standard, or exceeding an ICAO
Standard.38

2.30 The Department analysed the substantive differences notified by Serbia
and Vanuatu and advised the Committee that, in the case of Serbia, 84 of
the substantive differences involved exceeding the ICAO Standards,
58 involved meeting the relevant Standard by another means, and
41 involved being deficient in relation to the relevant Standard.39

2.31 Vanuatu exceeded two of the ICAO Standards, complied with
71 Standards by a different method, and was deficient in relation to nine
of the Standards.40

2.32 The Department noted:

The majority of differences notified by most countries are those
where the ICAO standards and recommended practice is not
applicable. An example for both Australia and Vanuatu would be
those standards relating to snow-clearing activities at airports.41

2.33 In a later submission, the Department noted that differences to ICAO
Standards were not considered when Air Services Agreements were being
negotiated. The Department advised that:

Air services arrangements provide an economic framework in
which airlines can consider serving a market. Differences lodged
by States, among other more pertinent kinds of safety-related
information, may be taken into account by the Civil Aviation
Safety Authority in the assessment of applications for the
operation of foreign aircraft into and out of Australia.42

2.34 The Committee considers that, while the Agreements are principally about
opening markets, the preamble to each Agreement includes the following
statement:

… Desiring to ensure the highest degree of safety and security in
international air transport and reaffirming their grave concern
about acts or threats against the security of aircraft, which
jeopardise the safety of persons or property, adversely affect the
operation of air transport, and undermine public confidence in the
safety of civil aviation; …43

2.35 The Committee also notes that the Agreements themselves contain a significant number of Articles that either directly or indirectly relate to safety.

2.36 The Committee considers that it would be imprudent if the Department’s negotiators did not at least make themselves aware of the differences notified to the ICAO by States with which they are negotiating. The Committee suggests that, as part of the negotiation process of future Air Services Agreements, the Department’s negotiators consult with CASA in order to determine if any of the differences notified by the State with which they are negotiating may pose a safety risk for Australian travellers.

---

Plus: 

2.45 The Committee is of the view that the establishment or renewal of Air Service agreements should be a trigger for CASA to undertake a due-diligence review of the status of compliance (including filing of differences with ICAO) with new or revised safety-critical regulations such as those outlined in para 2.42. This review should be completed as part of CASA's input to the evaluation of new or renewed Air Services Agreements and the documented outcomes included in the Department's evidence to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.

https://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committee....pdf?la=en

This got me thinking about the ASA that we have with PASO (Pacific islands) called PIASA. Now if the Dept was doing due diligence and following up on those JSCOT findings/recommendations one would have thought the PIASA may have been possibly updated and upgraded to encompass those extra safety provisions? However I can only find the 2004 version of the PIASA (see here: https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/....17tt1.pdf ) which does not appear to have been updated. But I do note that there is still scope under Article 16 of that agreement to recognise the now identified PNG AIC safety deficiencies with the noncompliance of Micronesia with certain Annex 14 Vol 1 SARPs:

ARTICLE 16 – Safety
1. Each Party shall recognise as valid, for the purpose of operating international
air transport governed by this Agreement, certificates of airworthiness, certificates of
competency, and licences issued or validated by another Party and still in force,
provided that the requirements for such certificates or licences meet the minimum
standards established pursuant to the Convention. Each Party may, however, refuse to
recognise as valid for the purpose of flight above its own territory, certificates of
competency and licences granted or validated for its own nationals by another Party.
2. Any Party may request consultations concerning the safety standards
maintained by another Party relating to aeronautical facilities, aircrews, aircraft, and
operation of the designated airlines. Other Parties may participate in the consultations
in accordance with Article 18 (2) and (3).
3. If, following such consultations, any Party participating in the consultations
finds that the other Party does not effectively maintain and administer safety standards
and requirements in these areas that meet the minimum standards established pursuant
to the Convention, that other Party shall be notified of such findings and the steps
considered necessary to conform with these minimum standards, and that other Party
shall take appropriate corrective action.
4. Each Party shall have the right to withhold, revoke or limit the operating
authorisation or technical permission of an airline or airlines designated by another
Party where that Party does not take the appropriate corrective action within a
reasonable time or where urgent action is necessary to ensure the safety of an airline
operation.

In my mind this doesn't dispel the potential culpability for the Australian aviation safety bureaucracy not to have reviewed the PIASA (and other airservices agreements) after the findings of both the Senate PelAir cover-up inquiry and the JSCOT inquiry. 

It is also disturbing that despite there being a 2nd inquiry and report by the ATSB into the PelAir VH-NGA ditching that there was no observations/findings in regards to Pacitic Island airservices agreements etc. like the PNG AIC has been able to do, without fear nor favour, inside of 10 months to an excellent full report...   

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

FAA drop Malaysians to IASA Category II??

Via the FAA:

---

Press Release – FAA Announces Results of International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) for the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2019
Contact: Eva Ngai
Phone: (202) 267-8001

---

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has found that the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) does not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards and therefore has received a Category 2 rating based on a reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority.

A Category 2 International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating means that CAAM – a body equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, and/or inspection procedures.

In 2003, Malaysia was assigned a Category 1 rating, meaning CAAM complied with ICAO standards for aviation safety oversight. The FAA conducted an in-country reassessment of Malaysia under the IASA program in April 2019, and met with the CAAM in July 2019 to discuss the results.

This process is an assessment of CAAM and not any individual airline operating inside or outside of Malaysia. With a Category 2 rating, Malaysia’s carriers can continue existing service to the United States. They will not be allowed to establish new service to the United States. 

As part of the IASA program, the FAA assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that have applied to fly to the United States, currently conduct operations to the United States, or participate in code-sharing arrangements with U.S. partner airlines, and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.

A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. With an IASA Category 1 rating, a country’s air carriers can establish service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers. In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, a country 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. IASA information is posted on our website.

###

---

Hmm...can't be long now before the FAA IASA team make landfall here? And what's changed since they were last here? If you read back on the last couple of pages of this thread and this thread - HERE - not much I reckon...


MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

FAA drop Malaysians to IASA Category II??

Via the FAA:

---

Press Release – FAA Announces Results of International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) for the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2019
Contact: Eva Ngai
Phone: (202) 267-8001

---

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has found that the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) does not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards and therefore has received a Category 2 rating based on a reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority.

A Category 2 International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating means that CAAM – a body equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, and/or inspection procedures.

In 2003, Malaysia was assigned a Category 1 rating, meaning CAAM complied with ICAO standards for aviation safety oversight. The FAA conducted an in-country reassessment of Malaysia under the IASA program in April 2019, and met with the CAAM in July 2019 to discuss the results.

This process is an assessment of CAAM and not any individual airline operating inside or outside of Malaysia. With a Category 2 rating, Malaysia’s carriers can continue existing service to the United States. They will not be allowed to establish new service to the United States. 

As part of the IASA program, the FAA assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that have applied to fly to the United States, currently conduct operations to the United States, or participate in code-sharing arrangements with U.S. partner airlines, and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.

A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. With an IASA Category 1 rating, a country’s air carriers can establish service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers. In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, a country 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. IASA information is posted on our website.

###

---

Hmm...can't be long now before the FAA IASA team make landfall here? And what's changed since they were last here? If you read back on the last couple of pages of this thread and this thread - HERE - not much I reckon...

This article is interesting -  

Via the Edge Financial Daily:

---

FAA downgrade has nothing to do with safety of M’sia’s aviation sector

Arjuna Chandran Shankar
/
The Edge Financial Daily

November 13, 2019 08:43 am +08



KUALA LUMPUR: The US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) downgrade of Malaysia’s aviation safety rating has nothing to do with the 2014 twin tragedies of MH17 and MH370 or the recent technical glitch at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

“None of the questions [raised during the FAA’s recent inspection] has anything to do with it (the twin tragedies and technical glitch) whatsoever and the air traffic control services, which are [under the purview] of our organisation, were not assessed. It (the assessment) was purely on our regulatory function,” CAAM board member Afzal Abdul Rahim told a press conference yesterday.

He also dismissed concerns about the safety of Malaysian air carriers and security of airports in Malaysia following the downgrade by the FAA.

Advertisement

“What was found by the FAA is that they did not believe that the CAAM should be categorised as a Category 1 aviation regulator. There is absolutely no assessment of airlines, air traffic control services or airports. What was audited was the CAAM. We also have to make this very clear that this [downgrade] was due to the CAAM’s deficiency and shortcomings. It is our failure,” he stressed.

“The FAA can, when it likes, audit or assess counter-regulators or peer regulators whose airlines operate in the US. So, if [AirAsia X Bhd co-CEOs and co-founders Tan Sri] Tony [Fernandes and Datuk] Kamarudin [Meranun] didn’t launch flights to Honolulu, the FAA would not have come here in the first place. This is because you first need to operate in their country,” said Afzal.

“The last audit the FAA did was in 2003, when Malaysia Airlines used to have flights to New York and Los Angeles,” he added.

Malaysia was downgraded to Category 2 status on Monday by the FAA, after the CAAM failed the US regulator’s aviation safety oversight audit in April. On announcing the downgrade on the same day, the CAAM admitted it was due to its shortcomings as an aviation regulator.

Afzal listed the CAAM’s shortcomings as related to the legislative, budgeting, human resources, documentation and areas of oversight.

“The shortcomings refer to inadequate actions in respect of the audit findings. For example, the FAA told us that we do not have the authority to fine or penalise our licensees for any offences. But these are our Malaysian laws where the CAAM does not have the authority to do so,” he said.

“Another challenge is that we have to update our aviation regulations such as to govern the flying of drones,” he added.

Datuk Razali Mahfar, a board member of the CAAM, also pointed to the regulator’s tight budget to fulfil its mandate.

“If we look at the current revenue structure of the CAAM, we are generating about RM120 million [per year] from RM95 million of air navigation charges and about RM25 million from regulatory charges. But the [annual] operating expenditure of the CAAM is RM350 million,” he said.

“The design of the organisation is also not poised to be a fully functional entity. This is because as a government agency previously, we were dependent on the Public Service Department Malaysia for our human resources needs, finance had been from the Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia and information technology came from the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit,” said Razali.

He noted that these functions are still “not well resourced” and that the CAAM would be looking at these issues as part of efforts to regain Category 1 status.

Afzal concurred, noting that the budget constraints also make attracting and retaining top talent a challenge.

He said out of the 300 questions raised during the FAA’s recent inspection, the US aviation regulator identified 33 flaws the CAAM needs to rectify if Malaysia is to regain Category 1 status. However, the CAAM is of the view that there are only 22 areas that need to be rectified. This leaves 11 issues that are ambiguous, he added.

“We are confident that we can regain it (Category 1 status) within 12 months. We must first convince the FAA to come and visit us [for a reassessment] in 12 months. They are quite busy because they have their own issues to deal with,” said Afzal, adding that based on other countries’ experience, the typical period for a country to regain its Category 1 status is between one and two years.

The downgrade in air safety rating by FAA was Malaysia’s first since achieving Category 1 status in 2003. Analysts said other countries such as those in the European Union, Japan or China may follow suit.

“That is an indirect or consequential effect of the FAA downgrade. (For instance,) a neighbouring country was downgraded a while ago and for a while other (foreign) regulatory authorities did come and perform air safety audits on its aviation authority. So, we are expecting the same thing to happen,” said Afzal.

Asked on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks on Monday that he had no knowledge about the downgrade of Malaysia’s air safety rating by FAA, Afzal said: “We are an agency under the purview of the ministry of transport. The transport minister was informed of the decision. We leave it to the minister to inform the Cabinet and the prime minister.”

Another CAAM board member Ragunath Kesavan dismissed claims that the resignation of CAAM’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmad Nizar Zolfakar was due to the downgrade by FAA.

He clarified that Ahmad Nizar had tendered his resignation a month before the FAA audit report was released, but declined to reveal the reason for his departure.

“We have to respect his wishes. He came back to become the CEO of CAAM after retiring from the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia and served for more than a year,” said Ragunath.

Meanwhile, the search is on for a new CEO, Afzal said, adding that this will not hold back plans by CAAM to regain Malaysia’s air safety ranking to Category 1.

---

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

KL FAA CAT II downgrade update - 

7 December 2009: FAA/ICAO brief on 'next steps' after poor results/findings in the ICAO USOAP 2008 & FAA Nov 30- Dec 4 2009 Australian audits. (ref links - #53 & WikiLeaks cable PDF: http://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/2...ileaks.pdf

[b]ref Pel-Air: A coverup: a litany of lies? - Version III[/b]

The following 'the Star' online articles serve up some more passing strange parallels to the Australian obfuscation of the December 2009 FAA audit report....  

‘CAAM had inadequacies’

---

• 
  
• NATION
  
  
• Friday, 15 Nov 2019
  By EDDIE CHUA
  

KUALA LUMPUR: A local university found issues with Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) prior to the United States Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) move to downgrade Malaysia’s aviation regulatory body.

The studies, made more than a year ago by the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, revealed that the (CAAM) was bogged down by inexperienced and underpaid staff and lacked manpower.

IKMAS had publicly raised the issues related to CAAM’s operation in their forums and conferences attended by local and foreign aviation industry participants.

IKMAS director Prof Sufian Jusoh said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority may follow the FAA by placing restrictions on Malaysian carriers, limiting their flight operations or putting stringent safety checks and requirements when using their airspace for safety measures.

“EASA and the Australian authorities have the right to do so to ensure the safety of such planes flying in and out of their countries as part of the International Convention on Civil Aviation, ” he said yesterday.

With Malaysia being downgraded, the global aviation community would be more stringent with the country’s aircraft using their airspace, he added.

“They can issue warnings to air travellers to be cautious of Malaysian planes, and even cancel flights or revoke codesharing flights from landing and taking off in their countries.”

The FAA has downgraded Malaysia from Category 1 to Category 2 following the audit on CAAM’s role in overseeing flight operations in and out of the country.

The rating also banned Malaysian air carriers from starting new services and they are restricted to current levels of any existing service to the United States.

The carriers would also be subject to additional inspections at American airports.

The FAA will also not allow codesharing arrangements between US and Malaysian carriers.

Sufian said the EASA and Australian aviation authority can also impose their own similar sets of rules based on the downgrade.

“The impact of the downgrading would see a serious cascading implication to the local aviation economy, directly and indirectly, ”

He said the country could lose millions if not billions of ringgit from this downgrade.

“The downgrade was partly due to the Transport Ministry’s inability to move fast enough to make changes in CAAM to manage and regulate the aviation industry efficiently, ” Sufian said.

He also said some of the local civil aviation legislations governing the industry and airlines are also not in line with the current global standards.

“There is also a lack of experienced engineers and pilots to help oversee the running of CAAM in terms of issuing pilot licences and other approvals pertaining to flying and aircraft checks, ” he added.

He said as part of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirement, the safety management to establish a State Safety Programme (SSP) should be placed under the preview of the CAAM instead of the jurisdiction of the Transport Ministry’s secretary-general.

As part of the SSP, there is a need for an organisation structure and state safety programme manual.

But Malaysia does not have one to date, he added.

“There is a need to quickly rejuvenate this organisation to ensure that the country can return to Category 1 within the next two years, ” said Sufian.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2...7oHqfJm.99

&...

Malaysia averted FAA downgrade in 2003 as DCA quick to rectify issues

---

• AVIATION
  
  
• Friday, 15 Nov 2019
  By B.K. SIDHU
  

Picture of entrance and logo of Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia building at Subang.


[b]PETALING JAYA: [/b]Malaysia was on the verge of a downgrade by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in mid-2003, but a quick rectification of problems prevented a full downgrade to Category 2 (Cat 2).

“Had the legitimate safety issues raised officially by the FAA in May 2003 not been resolved then, it would have led to a downgrade like now, ’’ said Datuk Kok Soo Chon, the former director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation or DCA, which has been corporatised and renamed as the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia or CAAM now.

He said but “we resolved all the issues after the audit within the grace period given by the FAA. We survived the audit and maintained Cat 1”.

Kok said that Malaysia was first awarded Cat 1 in 1996. The second audit by the FAA was shortly after the Sept 11 attacks. It started in October 2002 and the findings were presented to the DCA in May 2003.

Within six months, the-then team managed to address all the outstanding issues raised by the FAA and Malaysia was in Cat 1 by October of the same year.

However, in its third audit, the FAA downgraded CAAM to Cat 2 this week on air safety concerns. While this is seen as a major blow to Malaysia’s aviation sector, the CAAM board is working rigorously to get back the Cat 1 ratings within two years.

Going by regional experience, nonetheless, the path may not be easy, as it took Indonesia nine years to get back to Cat 1, while Thailand is still at Cat 2 since 2015.

“Back in 2003, drastic steps were taken to address several issues that the FAA had raised.

“We worked day and night to iron out all the details and within six months, we made sure the Cat 1 rating was intact, ’’ said an industry source familiar with the matter.

He added that it involved concerted effort between all the agencies, be it the DCA, the Transport Ministry, the Attorney General’s Chamber and several senior personnel from the national carrier who were seconded to speed things up.

Even at CAAM, things are heating up now and an executive committee consisting of board members has been set up to address all the 33 outstanding issues that the FAA has raised.

“Our main focus is to ensure that the 33 outstanding findings out of the 300 protocol questions are resolved. This action began in May this year and we are leveraging on our internal resources.

“As part of our strategy to accelerate the corrective action, we are bringing into our task force expertise from the industry, ’’ said CAAM board member Datuk Razali Mahfar.

He said the FAA would be informed of CAAM’s progress.

“We are also focusing on a longer-term solution to address our qualified technical personnel shortage, their training, remuneration scheme and the digitalisation of our operations, ’’ Razali added.

For its audit, the FAA posed 300 questions. There are 33 outstanding issues that need to be addressed by CAAM for it to be re-audited by the FAA to regain its Cat 1 rating.

Of the 33 issues, sources said five involve changing or amendments to be made to the law governing CAAM. 

This process can take a few months. About seven require changes to be made to the CAAM Act, 10 surround training and recruitment, and the remaining 11 are on the delegation of authority and documentation methodology.

Sources said progress has been made in several areas, including training and recruitment, and other areas are being handled concurrently.

The FAA is like the police in the sky and its job, among others, is to ensure all airlines that fly into the US follow strictly the safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation or ICAO, a United Nations specialised agency.

In 2003, Malaysia Airlines handled several flights into the US. Now, AIRASIA X is the only carrier that flies to the US, to Honolulu. The downgrade restricts the country’s airlines from adding new flights to the US.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi...jL2DDGs.99

 
See what I mean...


MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

The DARD and continued non-compliance with ICAO?? -   

Quote from this week's SBG: https://auntypru.com/sbg-21-03-21-of-kings-in-castles/

...As recently as this week, there was a serious, deep and meaningful pow-wow held between the department and some serious industry players (top draw not the usual riff-raff). It seems the new head of ‘the department’ is not only a straight shooter with brains, but his team are of the same calibre. Not to embarrass anyone, I won’t mention names, but will say that the seriously experienced crew from industry had nothing but praise for the folk from DoIT. Can you imagine how good it feels to have something positive to say about that department; it is a rare and welcome treat. There were some pretty hard heads at that sit-down; not ones to gripe or grumble, but seriously involved. The facts related to ‘the Act’ and the current situation and the simple remedies for that insupportable situation were not only well received, but, brilliantly – they were understood...

...Australia used to be a world leader don’t ya know; reduced now to almost an international pariah through non compliance, idiotic rule sets, a dodgy Act and a mindset which beggars logical, rational minds. Is there yet hope for a urgent reset of the ethos? Reform, regeneration and a return to sanity?... 

I have it on good authority that in the course of the mentioned (above) meeting there was much discussion about international aviation regulatory standardisation, international treaties and our non-conformance with ICAO SARPs (Standards and Recommended Practices).

This inquisition from the Dept is due in large part of their being made aware of many horror stories from the Department's international counterparts, when it comes to dealing with our aviation safety administrator, in the areas of aeronautical trade, commerce and aircraft certification.

This brings me to the reason why the likes of McDermott Aviation (plus other that trade internationally)  were present at that meeting - remember this?

Back to our aviation safety bureaucracy's propensity for obfuscating and taking the piss out of ICAO, the Department only need refer to the previous Department Seceretary Dr Kennedy's answer to RRAT Estimates QON in 2018: ref - https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...Letter.pdf

---

Which of course brings me to the point of bringing back to life this thread, for the benefit of the DARD here are some historical morsels I've dug up from the back of the AP stables...         

ICAO notified differences & the 'snowball effect'

Murky & his minions - A bureaucratic dictatorship?

Obfuscation of ICAO - A how to?

Barry O, Mr McFixit and the ICAO snowjob

Three decades of Australia taking the piss out of ICAO

Hmm...and there's plenty more where that came from...



MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Addendum: AMROBA Breaking News.

Via AP email chain:

To all members,

 
AMROBA has identified why aviation is not harmonised with the Convention Annexes in the latest BNs
Breaking News: The Future of Civil Aviation
 
Ever since government merged the Department of Civil Aviation into the Department of Transport, the requirement for a Government Department(s) to negotiate Civil Aviation Free Trade Agreements, or recognition of Australia’s Civil Aviation, with other Nations is missing.
 
Government knew they had to have Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreements (Civil Aviation Free Trade Agreements) with any Nation our industry could participate in the global markets.

This fundamental core legislative requirement to make The Department of Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development and Communications primarily responsible to obtain agreements with other nations to create jobs and improve the viability our industry is missing.
 
International agreements are government to government agreements that Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade normally sign.
 
Until government amends legislation to make DITRDC responsible, we only have domestic Civil Aviation.
 
Read the Breaking News “The Future of Civil Aviation  
 
Regards 

Reference pg 3-4: https://amroba.org.au/wp-content/uploads...iation.pdf

Urgent Action Required

The Government needs to set up an inter-government department Harmonisation Management Team (HMT) charged with day-to-day oversight of the civil aviation process and associated resources. The outcome must be an ability for government to obtain government to government civil aviation agreements recognising each other’s civil aviation design, manufacture, maintenance and training system. An inter-government HMT should invite AMROBA to be a member of that team and select 2-3 industry businesses involved with international trade to do the review. AMROBA is more aware of the issues than others.

What an Australian intergovernmental HMT would need to address are:

• Which Acts of Parliament need changing to open the aviation market to primarily the USA and other Asia/Pacific Rim countries. QUAD countries priority.

• Product certification harmonisation with the FAA
o FAA-CASA Implementing Procedures should be approved by HMT.
o Part 21 Approved Engineering Design Organisations to have same rights as FAA Part 183 Design Organisations. Delegates be given same functions.
o CASR Part 21 fully harmonised with FAR Part 21 from where it originated.

• Expand the current USA BASA to include maintenance.
o HMT should provide the guidelines.
o Adopt FAR Parts 43, 91, 145 & associated FAA guidance material.
o FAA/CASA Maintenance Implementing Procedures to be approved by HMT.

Without doubt, many jobs will be created in Australia once harmonised with the FARs.

---

The Missing Link

No Act of Federal Parliament makes applicable Government Departments responsible for obtaining Free “Aviation” Trade Agreements with other nations. The applicable departments; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications do not have legislative responsibilities to negotiate aviation FTAs in the form of “Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreements. This is the missing link.

MTF...P2 

[Sandy Reith]

Well put AMROBA, anthropological archaeologists take note, but in the DNA of the Australia’s Parliamentarians you’ll find RCA (Rogue Canberra Acids) that produce misogyny, bullying, lies and a toxicity that belie the sort of reforms that have been glaringly obvious for more years than most present day General Aviation (GA) personnel have been working in the GA environment.

Can’tberra, the developed world’s most soulless, super controlled, no freehold and socialistic capital. An alcoholic hothouse of internecine warfare and clambering one over the other which has, lately, had it’s true nature exposed, much to our National shame. The city that’s only basis is to wield power and grow itself away from the culture of freedom and fair go free enterprise that was once the hallmark of Australia’s way of life.

1. Canberra politicians have a much greater number of ‘staffers’ than the Parliamentarians of the United Kingdom.
2. The nomination ’Question Time’ in the Australian Parliament has become a misnomer, a lie, it is Political Theatre Time.
3. Australia’s Government has eschewed the notion of Ministerial responsibility by creating independent Commonwealth corporate bodies which are not directly accountable to the Public.

I’m sorry to say here’s no evidence that our leaders recognise any of the above symptoms that are resultant from the disease in the heart of our democracy. Namely lack of principle and lack of respect for the sovereignty of the individual, which goes to our freedoms and prosperity.

[Peetwo]

ICAO compliance; or 'Back To The future'??


Hmm...picked up this from the Dept website:

---

Release of Draft 2021 Aviation State Safety Programme (SSP) and 2021 National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP)

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications in consultation with other Australian Government aviation agencies, has reviewed and updated Australia’s existing State Safety Programme (SSP), which was published in May 2016, having regard to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 2020-22 Global Aviation Safety Plan and ICAO Annex 19 - Safety Management.

The updated SSP will continue to provide high level policy directions and outline Australia’s strategic intent in relation to continuing to achieve a high level of safety in our national aviation system, while the inaugural NASP is more operationally focussed and identifies specific critical areas of safety focus and initiatives to be pursued by aviation agencies in cooperation with industry over the next triennium.
Both proposed draft documents are closely linked and consistent with the ICAO global aviation safety framework. Both documents are also proposed for regular review. The NASP will be reviewed and updated annually and the SSP will be reviewed on a triennial basis to reflect their respective operational and higher level strategic focus.

The Department is now seeking public and industry stakeholder comments on the draft SSP and NASP. Comments will be accepted until 5:30pm AEST Friday 14 May 2021.

• State Safety Programme 2021 Consultation Draft PDF: 1152 KB 
  
  
• National Aviation Safety Plan 2021 Consultation Draft PDF: 1978 KB 
  

Comments may be sent by email to [email=%20SSP2021@infrastructure.gov.au]SSP2021@infrastructure.gov.au[/email] or by post to:
SSP 2021 Consultation
Attention: Mr Jim Wolfe
Assistant Secretary (International Aviation)
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
GPO Box 594
CANBERRA CITY ACT 2601

Following consideration of comments received, a final updated SSP and inaugural NASP will be prepared, with a view to the next SSP and inaugural NASP taking effect from 1 July 2021. The new documents will then be made available on this webpage.

2021 Aviation State Safety Programme (SSP) and 2021 National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP) Privacy Notice
Your submission, including any personal information supplied, is being collected by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act), for the purpose of Consultation on the 2021 Aviation State Safety Programme (SSP) and 2021 National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP).

The department will use this information as part of the public consultation process for the 2021 Aviation State Safety Plan (SSP) and 2021 National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP).

Your personal information will be stored securely by the department. It may be used by the department to make further contact with you about the consultation process. Your personal information will not be disclosed to any other third parties, except in the circumstances outlined below.

Submissions, in part or full, including the name of the author may be published on the department's website or in the Government’s response, unless the submission is confidential. Confidential submissions (including author name) will not be published. Private addresses and contact details will not be published or disclosed to any third parties unless required by law.

Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish you make a confidential submission, you should indicate this by ensuring your submission is marked confidential.

Confidential submissions will be kept securely and will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:

• in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister;
  
  
• where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia; or
  
  
• where required by law.
  

The department may also disclose confidential submissions within the Commonwealth of Australia, including with other Commonwealth agencies, where necessary in the public interest.

Please note that in order to protect the personal privacy of individuals in accordance with the Privacy Act any submissions containing sensitive information, personal information or information which may reasonably be used to identify a person or group of people may not be published, even if not marked as confidential.

The department’s Privacy Policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the department. The Privacy Officer can be contact at privacy@infrastructure.gov.au.

---

Now remember that in 2016 Murky released HIS version of the SSP under the cover of Tamworth and therefore avoided pretty much any constructive or expert input from the industry. In fact I can't even remember if there was a proper consultation process with industry? 

So here's a chance for industry to be actively involved with a new regime (under Secretary Atkinson) in setting government aviation safety policy for the foreseeable future -   

MTF...P2   

ps KC has already made a good start...  - see above and HERE.

[Sandy Reith]

I’ll make a suggestion to Secretary Atkinson.

Read the 269 submissions to the Forsyth report of 2014 and all those to Senator McDonald’s current Committee of inquiry. But this requires real work in the nature of study.

It all depends on motivation and an honest intent to make improvements. Both have been lacking in the government’s overall approach due to lack of Parliamentary leadership and the introverted, make work culture of Canberra’s primary industry;  that of perpetuating GI (Government Industries), in this case via GII (GI, sub. sec.Inquiries).

It could be that the best course of action now, for the whole, near as possible, of the aviation industry, would be no submissions. Then the bureaucracy might have some trouble in supporting their usual contention that they’ve been through the consultative process.

[Peetwo]

AMROBA BREAKING NEWS: 4/05/21



Via AMROBA - https://amroba.org.au/wp-content/uploads...e-2021.pdf

---

---

MTF...P2 

[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'.

[Peetwo]

ICAO compliance? - What's that? 

QON to the feeders of the Great OnePie trough fund...  

Via RRAT Estimates QON link: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...mates/rrat 

(Go to QON database link/ click on options / click on RRAT committee / click on Infrastructure etc Dept / click on Estimates round - 2021-22 Budget Estimates and scroll down to Airservices & CASA QON)

#No 32 

Portfolio Question Number 279
Question Senator RICE: I want to go to issues with Brisbane airspace design and the use of dependent separation approaches in Brisbane's airspace design. What can Airservices Australia say about whether the use of dependent separation approaches is compliant with ICAO standards? Mr Harfield: I will ask Mr Curran to answer those questions if he can. Mr Curran: If I may, I would like to take that on notice with regard to the ICAO compliance. Senator RICE: Have you done any review of whether it is compliant with the ICAO standards? Mr Curran: As a part of the process to implement the Brisbane new parallel runway, there was both a design and an implementation safety analysis undertaken. It was to assess the safety of the design and whether it could be implemented safely. It was committed to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for endorsement. Whether that actually directly linked to ICAO I would have to take on notice.

Note the arrogant reply to the next Senator Rice QON...

#No 33


Senator RICE: In response to another question you said that Airservices did not engage another air navigation service provider to review the closed STAR option at Brisbane Airport and that no consultants were used by Airservices Australia in the flight path design work for the parallel runway airspace. Can you tell me why you did those two design changes without independent review from external experts? Mr Curran: I'll have to take that one on notice. I think the plain answer is that we have the competency and capability in-house and we're able to undertake the work ourselves.

Next:

#No 34 


Senator RICE: In answer to another question you said that Airservices did not engage the UK NATS to review airspace design models at Brisbane. However, the Brisbane Airport Corporation did and Airservices Australia designs the flight paths and develops procedures and modes of operation. Are you confident with what the private operator of the airport did in terms of conducting that review into Airservices Australia's airspace design for Brisbane? Mr Harfield: Yes. Senator RICE: There's no conflict of interest there? Mr Harfield: It's not uncommon for the airport to engage someone to look at how the airport should be run more efficiently. At Perth, for example, when we had significant delays back in around 2007 with the mining boom, UK NATS were brought in to check runway occupancy times to improve the operation of the airport, so it's not uncommon. Senator RICE: I presume you were provided with the outcome of that UK NATS review? Mr Curran: I'll take that one on notice; I'm quite not sure. In the normal course of events, yes, there would be a healthy exchange in a potentially robust engagement around the different views. Senator RICE: Can you also then take on notice what issues or concerns were raised in that review and how they were resolved? Mr Curran: Yes.

The above QON still remain unanswered but are due to be answered by next Friday. However the ASA QON was significantly followed up by written QON to CASA that were quite obviously carefully composed by ATC SMEs (subject matter experts)??

#No 181 

1. In response to Committee Question Number 112, Airservices Australia said that it is regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). a. As its regulator, has Airservices informed CASA about (i) any internally raised safety concerns with regards to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) safety standards not having been applied correctly to the Brisbane airspace design, and; (ii) any Airservices' internal investigation into such safety concerns employing their in-house operational integrity and standards specialists? What has Airservices reported to CASA? b. As the regulatory authority overseeing Airservices, what has been CASA's response? c. In response to Committee Question Number 101, Airservices confirmed that, "Airservices did not engage another air navigation service provider to review the closed STAR option [at Brisbane Airport]." And further in response to Committee Question Number 105, Airservices stated, "No consultants were used by Airservices Australia in the Flight Path Design work for the parallel runway airspace [at Brisbane Airport]." - Considering the common practice by Airservices to engage external and independent "air navigation service providers on parallel runway systems and parallel runway operations from a number of countries including the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, France, United States of America and Canada" (Airservices' answer to Committee Question Number 103), why was Brisbane's airspace designed without independent review from external experts when others have been? As the regulatory body overseeing Airservices, why did CASA not insist on Airservices engaging external and independent peer reviewers considering the calibre and scale of this project and its long-term impact on Australia's third largest city? d. Did CASA conduct any of its own reviews of Airservices' design for Brisbane's airspace before it was finalised and launched? And if so, were any issues or flaws identified - either with regards to ICAO safety standards, or with regards to the stark imbalance between maximising capacity whilst minimising noise abatement outcomes for local communities?

#No 182

Following the release of the Australian Government's National Aviation Policy White Paper in December 2009, the "Significant Impact on the Local or Regional Community Guide" was launched in January 2012, which now forms part of the Airports Act 1996 s89(1)(na). a. How does CASA ensure the Significant Impact on the Local or Regional Community Guide is incorporated into its regulatory approach? b. This document is sometimes also referred to as the "Trigger" guide. It says, "Impacts may result from one element of a proposed development rather than the development as a whole. Intermittent and cumulative effects need to be considered and if the proposed development is to be undertaken in stages over a period of time, the impacts of the development once completed need to be considered, even if the potential impacts will not be evident in the first instance." (page 5). Considering the substantial changes that Airservices have implemented in the final airspace design, mode of operation, and noise abatement procedures for Brisbane, does CASA believe these changes constitute a trigger requiring the MDP and EIS to be revised and renewed as per these guidelines?

#No 183

Airservices Australia appears to have a stake in (i) the design of aviation airspace management regimes (flight paths) and airspace classification; (ii) levying of Navigation Charges and Rescue Firefighting Services to airlines, and; (iii) providing the Noise Complaints and Information Service [NCIS]. To what extent does CASA carry out regulatory oversight over Airservices Australia's operations and performance, and how does CASA manage and regulate Airservices' conflict of interest between being a commercial, incorporated entity of the government required to support increasing airspace capacity, and looking after local communities across Australia affected by aircraft noise?

Hmm...I'm sure those QON can easily be ducked by CASA but it will be interesting to see how the Su_Spence lead regime reacts to the obvious ASA conflicts of interest and possible non-compliances with ICAO in the context of these QON...   

MTF...P2 

[P7_TOM]

Could someone Please - Explain.



Here is a relatively 'simple' question from an elected Senator; asked in a Senate Estimates session. Pay particular attention to the 'question'. #No 32.



Portfolio Question Number - 279.



Question: - Senator RICE:-



Preamble - "I want to go to issues with Brisbane airspace design and the use of dependent separation approaches in Brisbane's airspace design."



This question is being raised by a 'Senator' who would not: not ever: understand "dependent separation" if her very life depended on it. Consider that.... here it is:-



"What can Airservices Australia say about whether the use of dependent separation approaches is compliant with ICAO standards?




The Halfwit's eyebrows creep up to his hairline and then: the immortal words :-



Mr Harfield: I will ask Mr Curran to answer those questions  - if he can.



Halfwit - rapidly hand balls the question to a lower pay grade (cannon fodder in the ASA vernacular).



Mr Curran: If I may, I would like to take that on notice with regard to the ICAO compliance.



'Tis but a simple question - are we, or; are we not ICAO compliant in this matter? Yet, there sits Curran - top table ASA with absolutely NDI about ICAO compliance - non, zero, zilch - Nada. And, his salary is???. Even at ten bob an hour he is overpaid; that, boys and girls is a no brainer question. It is either ICAO compliant - or it is not.  - Explanation as to why it is - or ain't - to follow. Nope = NDI and a QoN taken. Why?



Senator RICE: Have you done any review of whether it is compliant with the ICAO standards?



Mr Curran: As a part of the process to implement the Brisbane new parallel runway, there was both a design and an implementation safety analysis undertaken.



But by whom??



"It was to assess the safety of the design and whether it could be implemented safely."



But by whom??



Ah! - the 'great escape' clause, or; the best buck to pass emerges:-



"It was committed to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for endorsement. Whether that actually directly linked to ICAO I would have to take on notice."



Now then; let me get this straight in my old addled head. ASA is 'the' multi million dollar 'Guru' of all matter related to 'airspace'. CASA is their master in matters which require approval/sanction and; is the world wide 'acknowledged' expert on air space design. NOT!!



So, for a million bucks a year - Halfwit cannot answer the question; his off- sider has NDI; but, expects the CASA 'Boffins' to confirm that the 'design' is Kosher?



BOLLOCKS -



On 'airspace design' and dare we mention ICAO compliance - let alone 'world best practice' in the same breath as CASA having an expert airspace designer on staff who can; with authority - sign off Brisbane as 'compliant. BOLLOCKS.



Will someone, with a command of law and the Queen's (bless her) English please FCOL sort out this endless fiasco that our penniless Halfwit is trying to flog off as "best practice".



Hell's Bells Senator: please consider the indecent amount of public money being forked out every month to these 'experts' - who just keep passing the responsibility parcel around - with dizzying speed. Consider the simplicity of the question asked: is this ICAO compliant? Yes/ No (with reasons why not). P.S. If you want the plain facts - ask Civil Air - for therein lays expert knowledge and coal face performance - unrivalled.



ICAO compliant - What's that?



Well, Dear Senator, I shall, with your indulgence, tell you: in a plain man's words. Consecutive ministers, governments and Senators have been fed the biggest load of horse pooh since Hercules tackled the Augean Stables. Get with it or shut up; two choices - limited options. Fact......



"Oh. Yes please M' dear - same again - and don't bother to ask next time; we have a load of bull-dust to wash away here; all of us. But I will raise a glass to the 'good' Senator who had the courage and integrity to ask the most telling of questions.

[Kharon]

Pick a number-

There's a Choc frog in it for the closest answer; how much per hour does an Estimates session cost - all up. The maths are complicated; start with the support 'staff' required; cleaners, tea lady, camera operators, Secretariat, security and so on. Then the Senator's crew, assistants, advisers, clerical and operational etc. Then we must add the cost of say the ASA motley crew for example. Average that to say Oh, six front row and a couple of backs. At an hourly rate which includes preparation for Estimates, travel time, waiting around time, time 'in session' getting back to the office and then preparing the answers to the questions they need to 'take on notice'. Those QoN need to be taken back to the 'office, research needs to be done, answers prepared, edited, massaged and returned to the Secretariat which ends one cycle and begins another. Behind the scenes the machine which does Hansard, collects the answers, collates and distributes those answers back to each Senator's crew. A very, very costly merry-go-round indeed. Multiply that number by three - ASA, ATSB and CASA and add it to cost of running those three departments.

The point? Well, whatever that number is, it is a shed load of public and industry money. 

Money well spent? That depends on your point of view. But it begs some interesting sidebar questions though don't it? For instance the questions asked of ASA related to ICAO compliance with airspace management. One could be forgiven for imagining that an outfit - like ASA - would have 'experts' in airspace design and management; they are 'paid' at 'expert' rates. Then consider, if you will, the total cock up made of the 'new' Class E airspace; no too much expertise on show there. Or, the Brisbane approach debacle; for another classic. The ASA cannot produce an 'expert' to confirm or explain whether the designs mesh with ICAO compliance and world best practice. They have handed off those questions to CASA who have even less expert airspace folk on tap - let alone ICAO compliance specialists on airspace design.

Then, to cap the whole duplicitous bun-fight - a simple question relating to ICAO modelling must be taken 'on notice' because those sat in front of the Estimates committee cannot answer the question - :are we compliant'? Or, by extension - 'can it be shown that an equivalent level of safety, in line with world best practice, is 'safe' for those within and below the airspace design - with tangible proof?

So, sharpen your pencils - try to estimate the cost associated with alleged experts' struggling to honestly answer basic questions. Give up? So did I when I got past $100, 000 per minute. Handing over.

Toot - toot......

[Peetwo]

QON answered - QON unanswered?? -   

Via RRAT Estimates page: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus...mates/rrat

 Senator RICE: I want to go to issues with Brisbane airspace design and the use of dependent separation approaches in Brisbane's airspace design. What can Airservices Australia say about whether the use of dependent separation approaches is compliant with ICAO standards? Mr Harfield: I will ask Mr Curran to answer those questions if he can. Mr Curran: If I may, I would like to take that on notice with regard to the ICAO compliance. Senator RICE: Have you done any review of whether it is compliant with the ICAO standards? Mr Curran: As a part of the process to implement the Brisbane new parallel runway, there was both a design and an implementation safety analysis undertaken. It was to assess the safety of the design and whether it could be implemented safely. It was committed to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for endorsement. Whether that actually directly linked to ICAO I would have to take on notice. 

Answer: There are two types of dependent separation approaches used for the parallel runways at Brisbane Airport – dependent parallel visual approaches and dependent parallel instrument approaches. There are no International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for dependent parallel visual approaches. Australia’s dependent visual parallel runway approach standards are set by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and implemented by Airservices Australia (Airservices).

There are ICAO standards for dependent parallel instrument approaches and Airservices can confirm compliance with these standards. The dependent parallel instrument approach standards were reviewed following a change by ICAO in 2018 and updated in February 2020.

Senator RICE: In response to another question you said that Airservices did not engage another air navigation service provider to review the closed STAR option at Brisbane Airport and that no consultants were used by Airservices Australia in the flight path design work for the parallel runway airspace. Can you tell me why you did those two design changes without independent review from external experts? Mr Curran: I'll have to take that one on notice. I think the plain answer is that we have the competency and capability in-house and we're able to undertake the work ourselves.

Answer: Airservices Australia (Airservices) is Australia’s air navigation service provider, delivering world-leading services to manage the safe, orderly flow of aircraft into and out of Australia’s airspace. Airservices has the competency, skill and experience to undertake flight path design work for parallel runway airspace, as recognised by the the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) Part 173 Provider Certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

And from CASA:

Following the release of the Australian Government's National Aviation Policy White Paper in December 2009, the "Significant Impact on the Local or Regional Community Guide" was launched in January 2012, which now forms part of the Airports Act 1996 s89(1)(na). a. How does CASA ensure the Significant Impact on the Local or Regional Community Guide is incorporated into its regulatory approach? b. This document is sometimes also referred to as the "Trigger" guide. It says, "Impacts may result from one element of a proposed development rather than the development as a whole. Intermittent and cumulative effects need to be considered and if the proposed development is to be undertaken in stages over a period of time, the impacts of the development once completed need to be considered, even if the potential impacts will not be evident in the first instance." (page 5). Considering the substantial changes that Airservices have implemented in the final airspace design, mode of operation, and noise abatement procedures for Brisbane, does CASA believe these changes constitute a trigger requiring the MDP and EIS to be revised and renewed as per these guidelines?

Answer:

a-b. CASA is responsible for assessing the safety of avation at and around airports for any airspace change proposal. Questions relating to Major Development Plans and Environmental Impact Statements are a matter for the airport operator, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Airservices Australia appears to have a stake in (i) the design of aviation airspace management regimes (flight paths) and airspace classification; (ii) levying of Navigation Charges and Rescue Firefighting Services to airlines, and; (iii) providing the Noise Complaints and Information Service [NCIS]. To what extent does CASA carry out regulatory oversight over Airservices Australia's operations and performance, and how does CASA manage and regulate Airservices' conflict of interest between being a commercial, incorporated entity of the government required to support increasing airspace capacity, and looking after local communities across Australia affected by aircraft noise?

Answer: The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) conducts regular surveillance of Airservices Australia (Airservices) to ensure they are meeting regulatory requirements under the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 and are compliant with the operating certificates issued by CASA. In addition to regular surveillance, CASA also conducts out of schedule surveillance events in response to any regulatory matters or aviation safety concerns.

The Office of Airspace Regulation was established in 2007 to separate the functions of a regulator from the service provider. CASA must ensure that any airspace changes are managed in accordance with the Airspace Act 2007 although this excludes the regulatory responsibility for aircraft noise. Aircraft noise complaints are managed directly by Airservices and the Department of Defence, with oversight by the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.

IMO the bigger QON here is why QON 181 remains unanswered and is now overdue? 

1. In response to Committee Question Number 112, Airservices Australia said that it is regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). a. As its regulator, has Airservices informed CASA about (i) any internally raised safety concerns with regards to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) safety standards not having been applied correctly to the Brisbane airspace design, and; (ii) any Airservices' internal investigation into such safety concerns employing their in-house operational integrity and standards specialists? What has Airservices reported to CASA? b. As the regulatory authority overseeing Airservices, what has been CASA's response? c. In response to Committee Question Number 101, Airservices confirmed that, "Airservices did not engage another air navigation service provider to review the closed STAR option [at Brisbane Airport]." And further in response to Committee Question Number 105, Airservices stated, "No consultants were used by Airservices Australia in the Flight Path Design work for the parallel runway airspace [at Brisbane Airport]." - Considering the common practice by Airservices to engage external and independent "air navigation service providers on parallel runway systems and parallel runway operations from a number of countries including the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, France, United States of America and Canada" (Airservices' answer to Committee Question Number 103), why was Brisbane's airspace designed without independent review from external experts when others have been? As the regulatory body overseeing Airservices, why did CASA not insist on Airservices engaging external and independent peer reviewers considering the calibre and scale of this project and its long-term impact on Australia's third largest city? d. Did CASA conduct any of its own reviews of Airservices' design for Brisbane's airspace before it was finalised and launched? And if so, were any issues or flaws identified - either with regards to ICAO safety standards, or with regards to the stark imbalance between maximising capacity whilst minimising noise abatement outcomes for local communities?  

MTF...P2