The CASA Briefing
Your monthly CASA update

 Civil Aviation Safety Authority

January 2008

From CEO Bruce Byron

CEO Bruce ByronJust over three years ago I began a process of changing and reforming the way the Civil Aviation Safety Authority works and performs. Four goals for change for CASA were defined: to make an effective contribution to aviation safety, to be cost efficient, to build good relations with industry and to be accountable to the Federal Parliament and the Australian public. Many fundamental changes to CASA have been made since we set those goals in late 2004 and I believe CASA is a better performing organisation today than it has even been in the past. Clear priorities have been set for CASA's activities, there is a focus on risk identification and management, resources have shifted to CASA's frontline offices, new disciplines have been created and new staff hired and a new operational headquarters in Brisbane has been set up. In addition, we have tested all of our activities against the market for efficiency, created joint industry/CASA teams to develop new regulations, improved and defined service delivery standards and established an Industry Complaints Commissioner. There is no doubt CASA is more cost efficient, has improved relationships with industry and maintains a high level of accountability.

We have also gone a long way to meeting our goal of maximising CASA's impact on safety outcomes. Focussing on risks, prioritising our activities and putting more resources on the tarmac are evidence of achievement. The change program has followed a 'top down' process and in 2008 I will be pushing CASA even harder to make sure safety outcomes drive all of our front-line work. I will be asking our inspectors to again question what they do and how they do it, to make sure their work and CASA's resources are being directed to the best possible safety outcomes. At the same time I want people in the aviation industry to give CASA their views on the safety effectiveness of the regulator. I want to know the views of aviation managers, pilots, LAMEs, air traffic controllers, cabin crews and support staff on the work CASA is doing. If you think that certain CASA activities add little to achieving good aviation safety outcomes, please speak up. I can't promise to agree with every point of view, but I will promise to carefully consider all comments and suggestions.

You can provide feedback on CASA's safety effectiveness by using this form: Send us feedback.

CASA spends more time with industry

CASA's new field safety advisers logged thousands of hours in direct contact time with people in the aviation industry during 2007. The six advisers conducted 81 evening safety seminars for pilots during the year, mostly held in regional centres across the nation. A total of 3373 aviation industry people attended the seminars, with a biggest audience of 200. The seminars covered a range of topics including violations of controlled airspace, weather, situational awareness and pilot maintenance. They were usually organised in conjunction with a local aero or flying club.

The field safety advisers also carried out 787 on-site visits to aviation operations during 2007. On average the on-site visits lasted for two hours, although the advisers say they can last as long as six or seven hours. In total, the six advisers spent 1551 hours talking to industry people at their aviation operations. Issues covered during the visits included relationships with CASA, local operational matters, safety management systems, interpretation of regulations, safety promotion products, flying training and licensing. Complaints about CASA made up the second lowest category of issues covered during the visits by the field safety advisers.

Drug and alcohol testing is coming

CASA is developing the Notice of Final Rule Making for alcohol and other drug testing. It is expected the Notice of Final Rule Making will be issued during the second quarter of 2008 and it will include responses to submissions lodged on the proposed drug and alcohol testing. CASA will continue to work closely with the aviation industry in the development of the alcohol and drug testing program, which will include two components. The first will be industry managed drug and alcohol management plans for aviation organisations and the second will be CASA managed random testing. Both will be supported by comprehensive industry-wide education and awareness campaigns on the dangers of alcohol and drugs to aviation safety. Organisations will have six months from the start of the new regulations to develop and implement their drug and alcohol management plans.

CASA will oversee a random testing regime covering more than 120,000 safety sensitive personnel, which will also include private pilots. CASA is contracting a service provider to make sure the sample collection and testing is run to the highest possible standards. The blood alcohol level will be set at below 0.02 per cent, with testing conducted on-site using a breath analyser. Drug testing will be conducted using an oral fluid specimen and results will be reported by an accredited laboratory. The random testing is expected to start by the middle of 2008.

Watch CASA's web site for updates on the drugs and alcohol testing program.

Get ready for new language requirements

Australian pilots who fly overseas need to start planning to obtain their English language proficiency rating. New language proficiency requirements will come into force from 5 March 2008. This is the result of an International Civil Aviation Organization standard that aims to improve safety by ensuring all air crew and air traffic controllers are competent in radiotelephony communications. In Australia, pilots with an existing licence who fly domestically do not need to take any action as they will be deemed to be competent in English. However, Australian pilots who fly overseas will require an operational language rating.

CASA is making this as easy as possible by approving a range of industry delegates to provide level six language ratings - the highest level. Many Approved Testing Officers and Check and Training Captains and Chief Pilots in CAR 217 international operators are being trained to become level six language proficiency assessors. In addition, there are approved language centres which must be used if an applicant cannot reach the level six language rating. People obtaining a new pilot licence after 5 March 2008 must also attain an operational language rating and student pilots will need to be assessed as having a minimum proficiency in oral English.

Find out more about language proficiency.

Aerodrome standards being updated

CASA has called for comments on proposed changes to aerodrome standards - particularly those related to visual aids provided by aerodrome lighting. A Notice of Proposed Change has been issued after extensive consultation with the Australian Airports Association on improving the standards. Proposed amendments include making some standards clearer, aligning more closely with International Civil Aviation Organization provisions and addressing emerging issues. The changes are planned for the Manual of Standards for Part 139 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.

Those affected by the proposals are aerodrome operators, air operators, aerodrome lighting consultants and lighting equipment suppliers. One example of a proposed change is the inclusion of specific standards for wind farms. Previously wind farms were not mentioned in the section about obstacle lighting, however, with the proliferation of wind farms it is necessary to recognise their unique properties and set specific lighting standards.

Find out more and comment.

Instrument approach validation contract

Radiola Aerospace has been given a contract by CASA for the flight validation of instrument approach procedures at nearly 300 Australian aerodromes. The contract will see the company carry out checks on instrument approach procedures, which includes identifying obstacles. This will involve more than 400 flying hours each year. Radiola Aerospace is working with Canberra-based air operator Corporate Air to do the work. Corporate Air will supply one of their aircraft and three senior pilots for the flights. Radiola Aerospace's managing Director Brent Albiston says the company will establish a branch in Canberra and allocate three senior operational staff to the project. "The contract will require extensive flight and logistics planning recognising the very challenging Australian environment including extreme weather conditions and long transits," Mr Albiston says. "Radiola Aerospace has delivered flight inspection and validation services in more than 20 countries in the last two years".

Aircraft corrosion warning

The operators and maintainers of older, small aircraft have been warned to be on the lookout for corrosion. CASA has issued an Airworthiness Bulletin to remind people who fly or work on older aircraft that corrosion is a real problem that must be identified and rectified. This follows a number of reports to CASA about severe corrosion found in several different models of older, small aircraft. Some of these aircraft have required major repairs, while a few have been beyond economic repair.

The Bulletin says even small amounts of corrosion can become a major problem in a remarkably short time if left untreated. It states: "Most small aircraft manufacturers did not expect their types to last as long as they have. Some are now only considering corrosion detection and prevention programs and aging aircraft maintenance requirements. Regardless of the existence of an aircraft manufacturer's program, it is the responsibility of the registered operator (owner) to maintain their aircraft in an airworthy condition. This includes having the aircraft inspected from time-to-time for deterioration, damage and corrosion, and to have the necessary repairs performed when required."

Read the full Airworthiness Bulletin.

Support for CASA's stance on depressed pilots

A study recently presented to an Australian mental health conference has shown CASA's decision to allow Australian pilots to continue flying on anti-depressant medication is safe. Australia is one of the few countries which allow pilots taking these medications to fly. CASA adopted the policy as a positive safety initiative which has allowed many pilots and air traffic controllers to continue operating in a properly managed way. There is evidence that a policy of disqualifying people on anti-depressants leads to them operating while depressed, avoiding treatment or taking treatment but not declaring it.

The study examined the CASA medical and Australian Transport Safety Bureau databases and found that pilots taking anti-depressants were no more likely to have an accident or serious incident than other pilots. The report's principal author, James Ross, says the findings confirm for the first time that the long-standing policy of allowing supervised anti-depressant use is a good one. "But it does raise a lot of questions about what is happening in all these other countries, where presumably people secretly take medication unsupervised, or they just fly depressed, increasing their chance of an incident," Mr Ross says.

Read the full study.

International interest in vertical guidance study

A delegation from Japan recently met with CASA, Airservices Australia and the Federal Infrastructure department for discussions about the Australian aviation Approach with Vertical Guidance study. The study is being undertaken by consulting firm Booz-Allen-Hamilton. Instrument approaches that provide pilots with vertical guidance provide significant safety, operational and environmental benefits over current non-precision approaches. These include safer approach path guidance, simpler approach procedures and possibly lower minimum descent altitudes in adverse weather. The current study is looking at a technical feasibility assessment and cost-benefit analysis of the currently available and future technologies.

Approaches with vertical guidance currently require augmentation of the global navigation satellite system signals to provide the necessary integrity and accuracy levels. The Japanese Multi-function Transport Satellite-based Augmentation System (MSAS) is one of the technologies being examined by the consultants to cover the Australian service area. Other space-based and ground-based augmentation options are also being studied, such as the United States Wide Area Augmentation System. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March 2008, with the final report to provide a list of options for Australia.

Learn more about the vertical guidance study.

Cessna landing gear inspections

A risk of fatigue cracking in the main landing gear spring struts of a range of Cessna aircraft has been identified. CASA has issued a recommendation to all operators and maintainers of Cessna 120 to 337 model aircraft to carry out visual inspections of spring struts, axles and associated hardware at or before 1400 flight hours. Inspections are then recommended at 100 hourly intervals or at annual inspections, whichever occurs first. The spring struts should also be inspected using magnetic particle or fluorescent dye-penetrant. These inspections target corrosion, pitting and cracking on landing gear springs and associated hardware - particularly on those aircraft with skis installed or with a history of operating on rough unimproved runways. The recommendation for inspections follows recent CASA analysis of service difficulty reports and US accident data.

Read the recommendations in detail.

AOC survey starts

All holders of Air Operators' certificates will be sent a new CASA questionnaire from February 2008. Every air operator will be required to fill in the on-line questionnaire and return it to CASA. It is the first of what will become a regular survey of air operators designed to give CASA up-to-date information on aviation activity. The survey will collect data which includes the types of aircraft operated, hours flown, categories of operations and factors that might impact on safety. CASA will use the data to prioritise safety oversight activities, assess risks within the industry and target safety support for industry. An email is being sent to all air operators linking them to the survey and explaining how to complete the exercise and lodge the questionnaire. On average the survey should take about 20 minutes to complete.

Read more about the AOC survey.