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, 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 raised AD/BEECH 200/67 Amendment 4 to correct an unsafe situation on Beech 200 aircraft. This AD mandates a rear pressure bulkhead inspection, and was issued as a result of an in flight loss of cabin pressure due to bulkhead cracking. The State of Design for this type, the USA, did not mandate an inspection, as they saw the problem as particularly related to aircraft maintained and operated in Australia. As there are many examples of the Beech 200 on the Australian register, CASA developed an AD to correct the problem on Australian aircraft. This amendment updates the AD to reflect the latest changes to the manufacturer’s maintenance manual for the type. This AD cancels and replaces the previous issue.
CASA has not consulted with the Australian industry and public, because the amendment does not alter the technical requirements of the AD, but simply clarifies a maintenance manual reference and is administrative in nature only. There is no additional industry burden of compliance as a result of this amendment.
The Office of Regulatory Review has determined that ADs do not require a Regulatory Impact Statement.
The AD has been made by the Manager, Airframes in the Manufacturing, Certification and New Technologies Office, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Act.