Right Hand Seat

The moca test is an assessment designed to check the mental status of older pilots. The test will check the possible onset of dementia in those older pilots. The overall intention of the assessment is in the interests of continued flight safety.

Cognition is to be tested by a paper and pencil test and a flight test, and the two assessed together. The flight test can be the aeroplane flight review (afr), so long as it is done within 90 days of the medical examination. Air traffic controllers will also be tested but will be excluded from the flight test.

The september 2012 issue of the casa dame newsletter has advised casa dames of the coming changes that include the moca test as well as other planned checks of older pilots.

As pilots of all classes we will await advice of the new test and the other changes with interest. For flight instructors the aspect of relating the flight review to not only flying skills but also the cognitive or mental process and the paperwork involved will be interesting, perhaps a challenge.

The new requirements are not expected to be in force before the end of the year.

Pilots award

variations to the air pilots award 2010 have taken place in recent times. The australian federation of air pilots (afap) has been working behind the scenes to pursue an upward change to the award for aircrew.

Pilots are advised to check the award for changes that may effect their entitlements. A copy of the current award should be available to flightcrew at their employer’s premises.

Possible elt changes

stealth or sleight of hand – that is the question. Casa issued casr part 135 for consultation earlier this year and closed comment on same on august 24.

Part 135 deals with australian air transport operations – small aeroplanes.

On the casa website the cover sheet has a number of key proposals but there is no mention of proposed changes to the current use and carriage of elt units or devices.

In the more detailed briefing document – july 2012, under the heading of significant changes, bullet point no. 11 states: “emergency locator beacons (to be) required to be fitted for all flights, however for flights up to 50nm the beacon can be portable”.

But wait, have we not been up this path before? If one turns the clock back there was an extended tussle between caa (the predecessor to casa) and the aircraft owners and pilots association of australia (aopa) regarding the carriage of elt units.

The caa wanted to introduce fixed elt units for all aircraft flying beyond 50nm. Aopa argued that the case had not been proven that a fixed unit would give any better level of safety to a downed aircrew than a portable elt. It was argued that in the case of an aircraft ditching or being burnt out a fixed elt would be useless. There was also an argument that the batteries for fixed elts had to be imported by surface transport and that by the time they were purchased here in australia a good portion of their service life had been exhausted on the store shelf.

It was eventually agreed that an aircraft flying beyond 50nm could carry a fixed or portable elt.

So what has changed? Nothing.

Now the situation has arisen whereby the regulator is once again trying to introduce the installation of fixed units but with little fanfare. This writer is unaware of any study that indicates that fixed units are any better to have than a portable unit. There are documented cases here and overseas of accidents in which the fixed elt has not operated as expected.

Indeed, it is understood that the faa is currently trying to develop an improved standard to have elts operate properly in an accident.

If the requirement for a fixed elt is legislated then we are going to see higher costs to aircraft owners both in the purchase and installation of an elt, for aircraft not already fitted with an elt, and the ongoing cost of the life-dated batteries that have to be imported. The installation and maintenance of a fixed elt would impose unnecessary costs on some aircraft owners without any proven advantage over the current system.

The current system is a choice of fixed or portable. With the lack of a study that shows that a fixed elt is better than a portable unit one has to ask the question, why change? N contact dave by email at flyer02@optusnet. Com. Au