CIVIL AVIATION ACT 1988
CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY REGULATIONS 1998
ISSUE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE
Under section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act and in the interests of the safety of air navigation. Under regulation 39.001 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) may issue airworthiness directives (ADs) for kinds of aircraft or aeronautical products. Subregulation 39.001(5) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 provides that an AD is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Therefore, in accordance with section 6 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, an AD is a legislative instrument.
Under Annex 8 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the State of Design has overall responsibility for continuing airworthiness of an aircraft type, and must provide any information necessary to ensure the continuing airworthiness of a type to appropriate States of Registry. ADs (and their equivalents) are the most common form of continuing airworthiness information, and are issued by most ICAO Contracting States.
The State of Registry of an individual aircraft is responsible for its continuing airworthiness. Under Annex 8, the State of Registry must develop or adopt requirements to ensure the continuing airworthiness of aircraft. When a State of Design issues an AD against a type of aircraft on the Australian Register, CASA, as Australia’s national airworthiness authority, must assess that information and, if appropriate, issue an Australian AD to mandate the requirements of the State of Design.
CASA has reviewed the ADs issued for the Beechcraft 1900 series of aeroplanes by the Federal Aviation Administration in the USA. The USA is the state of design of the Beechcraft 1900. CASA has identified three USA ADs issued between 1987 and 1997 that were not mandated in Australia but which may be applicable, or may have been applicable in the past, to some of the nine Beechcraft 1900 aeroplanes currently on the Australian register of civil aircraft. CASA has decided to list these three USA ADs in a new AD called AD/BEECH 1900/50 State of Design Airworthiness Directives. AD/BEECH 1900/50 will become effective on 15 October 2010.
As this AD is issued because of Australia’s obligations under Convention on International Civil Aviation, and because it is issued in response to a number of ADs raised by the relevant State of Design, no consultation of the Australian public has taken place on this AD. The Office of Best Practice Regulation has determined that ADs do not require a Regulatory Impact Statement.
The AD has been made by the Manager, Continuing Airworthiness in the Airworthiness and Engineering Branch, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 94 (1) of the Act.
Overview
The Civil Aviation Act 1988 was enacted to provide a comprehensive legal framework governing civil aviation in Australia, addressing various issues related to the safety and regulation of air navigation. Among the key provisions of this Act is the authority granted to the Governor-General to make regulations necessary for the safety of air navigation, which is exercised through the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998. One of the significant mechanisms within these regulations is the issuance of airworthiness directives (ADs) by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). This authority stems from section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and regulation 39.001 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998. The policy objective underpinning these provisions is to ensure the continuing airworthiness of aircraft, aligning with international standards set by the Convention on International Civil Aviation. CASA's role is pivotal in assessing and mandating these directives, particularly when corresponding directives are issued by the aircraft's State of Design, such as the United States in the case of the Beechcraft 1900 series aeroplanes.
Scope and Application
The Civil Aviation Act 1988 and the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 apply to all entities and persons involved in civil aviation within Australia, particularly those operating aircraft and aeronautical products. The Act empowers the Governor-General to make regulations in the interests of air navigation safety, and under regulation 39.001, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is authorised to issue airworthiness directives (ADs) for specific types of aircraft or aeronautical products. These ADs are legislative instruments and are subject to disallowance and review as per the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The ADs are issued in response to obligations under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, and they mandate requirements to ensure the continuing airworthiness of aircraft registered in Australia. In this specific instance, CASA has issued an AD for the Beechcraft 1900 series aeroplanes in response to certain US Federal Aviation Administration ADs, which have not been previously mandated in Australia but may apply to some aircraft registered in this country. The new Australian AD, AD/BEECH 1900/50, will become effective on 15 October 2010, and it is expected to ensure compliance with international safety standards without the need for public consultation or a Regulatory Impact Statement.
Key Provisions
The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, under regulation 39.001, empower the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to issue airworthiness directives (ADs) for specific types of aircraft or aeronautical products. These ADs are legislative instruments, as outlined in subregulation 39.001(5) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, and are necessary to maintain the safety standards of air navigation as stipulated in section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988. The ADs are intended to ensure compliance with the continuing airworthiness of aircraft types, in line with the obligations of the State of Design under Annex 8 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
The obligations imposed by these ADs primarily rest on CASA, which must assess information from the State of Design and issue corresponding ADs to ensure that the safety regulations are met. In this case, CASA has reviewed the airworthiness directives issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the USA for the Beechcraft 1900 series aeroplanes. Given that the USA is the State of Design, CASA has determined that three USA ADs, issued between 1987 and 1997, which were not previously mandated in Australia, may be applicable to the nine Beechcraft 1900 aeroplanes registered in Australia. As such, CASA has issued a new AD called AD/BEECH 1900/50 State of Design Airworthiness Directives, which will come into effect on 15 October 2010.
Breach of the provisions in these ADs can lead to severe consequences, both civil and criminal. Non-compliance with ADs can result in the grounding of the affected aircraft, which in turn could lead to significant financial losses and operational disruptions for the operators. Furthermore, CASA has the authority to take enforcement actions against entities that fail to comply with these ADs. The specific penalties for non-compliance are not detailed in the text provided, but under the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and related regulations, they could include fines and other sanctions as deemed appropriate by CASA. These measures are crucial to ensure that the highest standards of aviation safety are upheld across all aircraft registered in Australia.