[Peetwo]

IFALPA Black Star Essendon Fields Airport?? cont/-

Solid 'Gold Star' post "K", totally nailed many of the outstanding aberrations in this incredulous tale of extreme bureaucratic obfuscation and cover-up...  

On the subject of different coloured star ratings, I noted a curious additional post reply from the AFAP:

Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP)
5,612 followers
2d

IFALPA has #EssendonAirport listed as a "black star" airport for not meeting international #aviationsafety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

To begin IFALPA is the "The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations":

IFALPA is the global voice of pilots. An international not-for-profit organization, IFALPA represents over 110,000 pilots in over 70 countries. The mission of the Federation is to promote the highest level of aviation safety worldwide and to be the global advocate of the piloting profession; providing representation, services, and support to both our members and the aviation industry.

What does an IFALPA "Black Star" Airport rating signify?

Courtesy of 2014 post from the 'Airline Pilot Central' forum:

AIRPORTS RATED CRITICAL UNSATISFACTORY: GIVEN BLACK STAR BY INTL PILOTS
ORGANIZATION
by Michael Ravnitzky , mikerav at mindspring dot com

The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA)
designates certain airports as "Black Star" Airports, meaning that those
airports are rated critical unsatisfactory according to IFALPA's safety
criteria. There are reportedly 2-3 dozen hazardous black star airports and
navigation areas.

IFALPA also grants lesser ratings for less severe safety concerns: Red
Stars are assigned to airports and navigation regions that are very
unsatisfactory, and Orange Stars to airports and regions that are
unsatisfactory.

IFALPA distributes these ratings to its members but not to the public.
However a copy of the IFALPA Black Star rating list was leaked to the press
in 1977, after the tragic runway collision of two 747 jumbo jets on Tenerife
in Spain's Canary Islands, and appeared in several publications.

The FAA apparently receives a copy of the IFALPA "Black Star" listing, as
does IFALPA's affiliate in the United States, the Air Line Pilots
Association (ALPA).

You can request a copy of the IFALPA's hazardous airport ratings identifying
airports receiving their Black Star listing (which presumably also contains
the red star and orange star ratings) from the FAA by sending a letter
mentioning the Freedom of Information Act to the following address:

Federal Aviation Administration
Attn: Ms. Tracy Paquin
Acting FOIA Program Director, ARC-40
800 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20591
USA
telephone number: (202) 267-9165
fax number: (202) 493-5032

Hmm...love to get a look at that list?? -   

In the course of looking into this 'black star' rating and it's significance to Australia, I came across a 2000 Parliamentary QON, ironically  addressed to the former DPM and Minister of Transport Mr John Anderson...

Mr McClelland asked the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, upon notice, on 14 August 2000:

(1) Has the Airline Pilots Association designated Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport as a red star airport; if so, why.

(2) Will he investigate the concerns of the Airline Pilots Association; if so, what action will he take.

---

Mr Anderson (Deputy Prime Minister) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) Yes,- the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) has written to me on matters concerning Sydney Airport, principally the 25 knot cross wind limitation, and advised that it has designated Sydney Airport as a `red star' airport.

(2) I view very seriously any safety concerns raised by airline pilot organisations and I have directed the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to review their concerns as a matter of priority, in conjunction with Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Airservices Australia, and the aviation industry. The review is in progress.

Yet 4 years later DPM Anderson was to sign off on the Essendon Airport Operator's MDP (which included the DFO building complex plans) and ironically 20 years later the Essendon Airport was to receive a 'Black star' rating, largely due to the DFO being approved and built where it is today -   

It is worth noting that AusALPA predicted the safety standard downgrade and threatened the black starring back in 2019: Ref - https://www.aipa.org.au/media/2095/02-07...tation.pdf









Plus: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/busines...a6573bbf9b

Pilots push black-star rating for Essendon airport



Pilots will seek to have Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne “black-starred” after a reduction in the width of the airway strip from 300m to 180m.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots is concerned the change amounts to a critical deficiency at the airport, which recently won approval to carry aircraft up to 50 tonnes.

Effective since April 2, the decrease in width was signed off by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority despite an active investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau into the proximity of development to Essendon Fields.

The investigation was triggered by the 2017 crash of a charter plane carrying four American tourists, who died when the B200 King Air slammed into the DFO building after getting into strife on takeoff.

AFAP safety and technical manager Marcus Diamond said the federation’s concerns were exacerbated after learning the DFO building was only 128m from the centre of the runway.

“We don’t have any other airports at 180m that take 50-tonne aircraft in this country and nor should we because it’s going to be downright dangerous,” Mr Diamond said. “These aircraft need 300m runway width strip under all the international conventions. It’s a land grab whether or not they say it. They’ll be able to build more buildings and pretty much choke the airport out completely.”

He said they would seek to have Essendon Fields given a black-star rating at the next meeting of the International Federation of Airline Pilots Assoc­iations in Berlin later this month.

IFAPA compiled a list of “black-star designated” airports or air corridors around the world to alert pilots to potential hazards.

Other airports on the list include Siem Reap in Cambodia, Cebu and Manila in The Philippines and Jakarta in Indonesia.

Essendon Fields Airport director Andrew Nicholls insisted there was no safety issue at the airport. In a letter to airfield users, Mr Nicholls said the change returned the runway to the same width it was from 1972 to 2015.

“This will not reduce safety at Essendon Fields Airport,” Mr Nicholls wrote.

“There will be no impact on the landing minimums.”

A CASA spokesman confirmed that the 180m runway flight strip met the regulations for aircraft using the runway as limited by Essendon Fields.

MTF...P2