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CASA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) which would see pilots of large aircraft conduct most of their non-normal exercises on flight training devices and flight simulators, a move it says will help to implement a safer training environment.
The NPRM proposes to change Civil Aviation Orders 40.0 and 82.0 to restrict pilots of aeroplanes and helicopters which carry more than 20 passengers or have an MTOW greater than 8618kg to conduct non-normal training in a qualified flight simulator or FTD where there is an appropriate one available in Australia or overseas, with such training to be prohibited in an actual aircraft.
Where an appropriately qualified simulator or FTD does not exist, the exercises may be performed in the actual aircraft with an appropriate safety risk management plan and the approval of CASA. Similar regulations are proposed for pilots who operate aircraft certified to carry between 10 and 19 passengers.
The NPRM appears to be linked to the deaths of two pilots who were involved in the crash of an Airnorth EMB-120 Brasilia while on a training flight from Darwin Airport in March this year. The pilots were conducting an engine failure after takeoff training exercise as part of the operator’s check and training procedures, and the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff.
CASA has placed the NPRM on its website, and is taking public comment until January 21, 2011.
