The CASA Briefing
Your monthly CASA update

 Civil Aviation Safety Authority

June 2008

From acting CEO Shane Carmody

acting CEO Shane Carmody

CASA has just released the results of the latest survey we have conducted on public attitudes to aviation safety in Australia. This is the fourth time since 2000 that CASA has commissioned this survey and the results are both pleasing and instructive. A total of 1526 people were interviewed by telephone by Roy Morgan Research. Across a range of measures the survey found Australians are increasingly confident about aviation safety. A total of 78 per cent of Australians say they are completely confident or very confident about their safety when flying between Australian capital cities – up four per cent on the same survey done three years ago. Confidence in the safety of flights in regional Australia has also increased, with 64 per cent of people saying they are highly confident about their safety. The survey found 55 per cent of Australians believe flights between capital cities are safer than similar flights in other leading aviation nations, such as the United States. Only two per cent believe flights are less safe. The number of people who are concerned about air safety has remained very low, at five per cent. Reasons for being worried about safety include psychological factors, mechanical problems with aircraft and human error.

The survey also found there is strong public support for CASA. Fifty six per cent of the respondents say CASA is doing either a great or good job. This rating has been steadily improving since the first survey was taken in 2000, when confidence in the regulator was measured at 33 per cent. In the 2005 survey support for CASA was at 53 per cent. Only four per cent of people say CASA is doing a poor job, another 34 per cent say the regulator is doing a reasonable job. Sixty one per cent would like CASA to supervise the major airlines "more closely" to some degree, while 29 per cent feel no change is needed. Overall, the results are very positive and show the hard work of the aviation industry and CASA to maintain and improve aviation safety is paying off.

Read the full survey results.

Early next month a Senate committee will be holding a short inquiry into CASA. Some of the issues to be examined include the effectiveness of reforms undertaken since 2003 and CASA's current governance structure. CASA has put together a comprehensive submission to the inquiry detailing the positive changes made in recent years to the way we manage, plan and conduct our aviation safety responsibilities. I believe we have a good story to tell and that we have the support of many, many people from across the aviation industry. The inquiry is yet another opportunity to review the way CASA operates and to continue to build on our improvements.

CASA Operations Headquarters open for business

CASA's focus on the operational safety of the aviation industry was underlined this month with the opening of a new headquarters in Brisbane. For the first time the senior managers and staff that drive CASA's operational groups are located in one building, along with all other Brisbane-based staff. This means the planning, direction and management of aviation industry surveillance being conducted by CASA right across Australia is being done by teams housed in a central location, right next to Brisbane Airport. The creation of CASA's Operations Headquarters was a key part of CEO Bruce Byron's strategy to direct resources to effective and targeted safety oversight and support for the aviation industry. Mr Byron also wanted CASA people working near major aviation centres to make it easier to keep in touch with the industry.

The new Brisbane-based Operations Headquarters means that CASA has two central locations. Canberra is the base for CASA's Corporate Headquarters, with functions such as the Industry Complaints Commissioner, legal, human resources, finance, information technology and corporate affairs located together. Canberra is also the base for the Personnel Licensing, Education and Training group, regulatory development and the Office of Airspace Regulation.

The head offices of the Air Transport Operations group and the General Aviation Operations group are now both based in the Operations Headquarters in Brisbane. In addition, the new Brisbane building is home to the Eastern region general aviation office, the general aviation call-centre and the Brisbane air transport office. The address of the building is 12-14 The Circuit, Brisbane Airport. Mail should continue to be sent to GPO Box 2005, Canberra, 2601. Email is unchanged.

Northern Australia safety sweep

A month-long safety sweep of aviation operations right across Northern Australia is being conducted by CASA. Detailed safety checks are being carried out on pilots, engineers, aircraft maintenance and aircraft operations at more than 60 locations across the Top End of Australia. CASA will also be providing safety advice and education to the Northern Australian aviation industry during the safety sweep. Two teams of CASA inspectors, investigators and safety advisors will visit aerodromes and airstrips in North Queensland, North West Queensland, the Northern Territory and WA’s Kimberly region. The CASA safety teams will fly in a fixed wing aircraft and a helicopter and will cover more than 8000 kilometres during the month. The safety sweep began in the last week of June and will run until late July. Teams will arrive unannounced at large and small aviation operations, aerodromes and airstrips to conduct checks, provide safety advice and investigate any evidence of breaches of the regulations. The safety sweep will cover locations such as Cairns, the Torres Strait, the Gulf country, Mt Isa, Darwin, Katherine and Broome. It will not be limited to major aerodromes.

Find out more about the Northern Australia safety sweep.

Keeping the tarmac safe for planes and vehicles

CASA is moving to create regulations and technical standards to prevent runway incursions by vehicles operating on the active areas of Australia's largest and busiest aerodromes. A project has been established to develop changes to the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations Part 139, which covers aerodromes. Airservices Australia has already taken steps to provide aerodrome surface surveillance equipment and related air traffic control procedures designed to limit vehicle runway incursions. This will provide radar-like surveillance at certain high-density aerodromes - initially Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

The CASA project will establish regulatory powers and technical standards applicable to aerodrome vehicles operating on the manoeuvring areas at certain high-density aerodromes when required for air traffic control purposes. This will give CASA the authority to require the aerodrome to establish processes covering any vehicle that enters, or moves on, the manoeuvring area of the aerodrome. Requirements will include vehicles being fitted with electronic communication and surveillance equipment and vehicle drivers monitoring the air traffic control radio frequency.

Find out more about the project.

CASA engineer wins high honour

A CASA engineer earned recognition in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours for outstanding developments in aviation safety innovation. Steve Swift, CASA's principal engineer airframe durability, was awarded the prestigious Public Service Medal. It was one of only 15 Public Service Medals awarded by the Governor General this year. Steve Swift has dedicated his career to the design, certification and continued airworthiness of aviation structures. He has earned a worldwide reputation for important contributions to these areas of aviation. In recent years Steve co-developed a model which simplifies aircraft damage tolerance, which has major benefits in the fight against aircraft structural fatigue.

CASA's group general manager General Aviation Operations, Greg Vaughan, says:

"Steve manages to simplify the complex workings of this field and creates simple tools to assist in making important safety decisions. In conjunction with a colleague at the US Federal Aviation Administration, Steve developed a tool to help the aviation industry keep aircraft safe from fatigue cracks, known as the ‘diamond model.' He has now extended the utilisation of the diamond model to corrosion applications."

Take care when buying or selling an aircraft

Aircraft owners are being reminded of the need to carefully follow all transfer of registration requirements when buying and selling an aircraft. Under the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations old and new aircraft owners must ensure all required notices are lodged with CASA within 14 days. Failure to lodge the correct forms and applications will result in a cancellation of the registration of an aircraft. The cancellation of an aircraft's registration also automatically triggers the cancellation of the certificate of airworthiness. This means the aircraft cannot be flown. Re-registering an aircraft and obtaining a new certificate of airworthiness can be expensive.

CASA has no option but to cancel an aircraft's registration if the correct processes are not followed. This action is mandated by regulation 47.130(5) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. Old and new owners must ensure a ‘transfer of ownership' form is sent to CASA and the new owner must submit an ‘application form' – both within 14 days of the change of ownership of an aircraft.

Find out more on aircraft ownership transfer.

Check your FreeFlight GPS systems

The manufacturer's support for a small number of FreeFlight GPS systems will end later this year. This means these models of FreeFlight GPS receivers will no longer be able to be used for any stage of instrument flight rules operations in Australia. CASA cannot allow the GPS systems to be used without a current and up-to-date data base. In addition, FreeFlight will not be providing hardware and software upgrades for these models.

The FreeFlight systems that will no longer be supported cannot be used after 18 December this year. They are: TNL 1000 DC, TNL 2000/2100/3000/3100 and TNL 2000T/2100T/3000T/3100T. CASA estimates there are around 30 of these GPS models in aircraft in Australia. FreeFlight is offering continued support and upgrades for a range of other Approach and Approach Plus GPS navigation Systems. People with this equipment must make sure they contact their equipment supplier to obtain the hardware and software upgrades and the new databases from Jeppesen.

Find out more from FreeFlight.

Move to new rules a smooth success

More than 120 aerial agriculture and aerial application operators have successfully made the transition to the new Part 137 Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.  The operators had to develop new manuals to meet the requirements of Part 137, which covers aerial applications by fixed wing aircraft.  For some operators the changes to their manuals were only subtle, while for others more substantial amendments had to be made.  Changes include having to formally nominate the chief executive officer and the two key positions of head of flying operations and head of maintenance control.  Operators were given 12 months to develop their new manuals and submit them to CASA for approval and only a handful of organisations missed the deadline.

The Aerial Agriculture Association of Australia provided advice and encouragement to its members to make the transition to Part 137 after working closely with CASA in developing the new regulations.  A CASA team worked hard to make sure all the applications for transition to the new regulations were processed as quickly as possible, while checking that the manuals covered all safety requirements.  CASA thanks all aerial agriculture and application operators and the Aerial Agriculture Association for their co-operation in making the transition a success.

Find out more about Part 137.

New help for pilot training

The Federal Government has launched a new Aviation Training Package. This delivers for the first time Australia-wide standards and qualifications for pilots and other aviation workers. Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, said this was important as commercial pilots were recently added to the Government's official national skills shortage list. Mr Albanese said the industry predicts a shortage of up to 1,800 pilots over the next two to three years. He said there were a number of benefits to the new training arrangements. They cut through a myriad of state qualifications and provide nationally consistent qualifications, making it easier for people considering a career in the aviation industry. For the first time CASA and the Defence Department have agreed on standards and requirements for pilot qualifications, allowing pilots to move more freely between civilian and defence workforces. It will also make it easier for overseas students to train in Australia.

Mr Albanese said: "The new package will be an important resource for trainers, registered training organisations, potential trainees and those already in the aviation industry. The Aviation Training Package has been developed by the Transport and Logistics Skills Council following extensive industry consultation."

Find out more about the training package.

Be a safety management guru

Want to learn more about how to develop and foster the best possible safety culture in your aviation organisation? Now it's as simple as a click of your computer mouse. CASA has just launched a wealth of on-line information about safety management in aviation organisations. There are three booklets and two DVDs on the CASA web site which explain safety management systems, managing change in aviation and the role of the CEO in safety management. The DVDs provide expert advice and commentary from people such as Professor James Reason, as well as 13 case studies from Australian aviation organisations. The organisations featured in the DVDs cover the full gamut of Australia's aviation industry from high capacity to general aviation. There are case studies from Jetstar, CHC Helicopters, Skytrans Helicopters, Network Aviation, Execujet Australia, the Moorabbin Flight Training Academy and Wrights Air.

Learn all about safety management.

Check your carby floats

The owners and operators of aircraft fitted with Precision Airmotive carburettors are being advised to replace a key fuel system component. There have been a number of reports of the failure of the brass and advanced polymer floats used in Precision Airmotive carburettors. These were previously known as Facet/Marvel-Schebler float carburettors. The failure of the floats may lead to reduced buoyancy, which can then cause poor idle performance or the engine stopping at idle. A CASA airworthiness bulletin says while most problems can be detected due to poor idle, some floats have been found to be defective even though no operational difficulties had been experienced. CASA recommends owners and operators comply with the latest Precision Airmotive service bulletin, which requires the installation of a replacement foam float.

Read the airworthiness bulletin.

Our on-line store is getting better

CASA's on-line store is changing. Over the next few months a new supplier will take over the management of the on-line store, delivering an even better service to aviation people who need CASA products. In the mean time there may be some disruption to normal services, although every effort is being made to keep this to a minimum. If you can't get products by following the link on the CASA web site to the on-line store, don't despair. You can send an email to CASA's document control unit or fax an order form for the product you want. Remember, most CASA products are distributed free of charge to the relevant sections of the aviation industry and the majority can also be downloaded for free from the CASA web site.

Get the full details on changes to the online store.

Help for helicopter blade bonding

All operators and maintainers of Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters are being warned to make sure their main rotor blades are protected from delamination. CASA has issued the advice following industry concern that the manufacturer's recommended refinishing schemes for main rotor blades may not always provide enough protection. In addition, some operators and maintainers have found the paint specified by the manufacturer is difficult to obtain. CASA took up these issues with the Robinson Helicopter Company on behalf of the Australian industry and has obtained clarifying advice. Robinson says equivalent finishes can be used if they provide the same or better bonding.

Read the detail in the airworthiness bulletin.