Slow progress

Managing fatigue

Civil Aviation Order 48. 1 remains at the forefront of the RAAA priority list, and CASA has finally agreed to examine empirical evidence gathered and monitored over the years through safety management systems that clearly demonstrate how operators have successfully been identifying the hazard and managing the risk of fatigue.

CASA routinely audits operators’ SMS to ensure that any fatigue issues are captured and analysed and appropriate changes to the operation are put in place to prevent a recurrence, as required. Therefore, there is a strong and demonstrable argument that those operators with a healthy and mature SMS are already managing fatigue to the satisfaction of the regulator.

Significantly, the ATSB has not made any significant formal recommendations to CASA regarding fatigue, nor have the findings from investigations and analysis of occurrence data resulted in fatigue being included as a discreet SafetyWatch priority.

Therefore, passengers on regional airlines in Australia can relax as fatigue is already being managed.

Cessna SIDS

It seems CASA has done a good thing in terms of the Cessna SIDS (Supplemental Inspection Documents) inspections. CASA reports it continues to receive considerable feedback from industry on structural damage found as a result of the SIDs.

The main characteristic of the SIDs inspections is the discovery of corrosion or fatigue damage that may be present that would not normally be detected during routine 100-hourly maintenance.

One maintenance provider, which has completed over 50 SIDs inspections of Cessna 100 and 200 Series aircraft, found that of all the aircraft inspected so far, half a dozen aircraft had no damage found, half a dozen aircraft were so damaged that they were beyond economic repair to make safe, and the rest (three quarters of the aircraft inspected) had all revealed varying degrees of structural damage that would otherwise not have been found.

The SIDs current compliance date for 100 Series aircraft in the Private Category, the largest cohort of applicable aircraft, is June 30. CASA is concerned there may be a significant number of aircraft that will not have had their SIDs inspections completed by this time.

To its credit, CASA was due to conduct a meeting of relevant chief engineers from industry in Canberra on April 28 to discuss the issue and recommend the most appropriate way forward to ensure safe outcomes for these aircraft while minimising the impact on industry.

Security

The Office of Transport Security is developing its policy on ‘proportionate security measures’ that would apply to regional aviation. Its approach to consultation in reaching a pragmatic and achievable outcome for this sector is encouraging. The RAAA has been invited to contribute subject matter expertise in the Office’s considerations of infrastructure on the ground and any treatment to certain classifications of aircraft.

The MULTICOM saga

The Regional Airspace and Procedures Advisory Committees (RAPACs) is perhaps the most successful and cost-effective forum that CASA has. One of the reasons is that the attendees are usually those who operate at the coalface and have significant grassroot connections.

Sadly, in relation to the MULTICOM saga, there remains little awareness in CASA of the unintended consequences from the change. This reflects the poor level of current coalface operational knowledge within the organisation and the lack of any significant corporate history.

The continued refusal to accept discussion on the MULTICOM is not in accordance with the terms of reference of the RAPACs or in fact the traditional role of the forum. The ‘P’ is for procedures and what you say on the radio has always been accepted as part of the procedures. The MULTICOM was changed by another department within CASA which did not choose to table it at the RAPACs in the belief that it was only a clarification! This only shows the poor level of knowledge of the procedures that were introduced with the NAS airspace changes in 2003/4. Correspondence that followed has shown that there are still silos within CASA and on this occasion they certainly did not communicate with each other.

Strength in numbers

The RAAA has recently been attracting a number of applications from flying training service providers who are seeking membership. It seems there is an emerging demand for a single, unified voice for this sector.

Coincidentally the theme for our annual convention to be held in the Hunter Valley later this year is Strength in Numbers. Working with the RAAA ensures that key people from the training organisations have a strong and clear voice around the regulation development and amendment table.

The ATSB has not made any significant formal recommend- ations to CASA regarding fatigue.