CIVIL AVIATION ACT 1988
CIVIL AVIATION 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. An AD is a disallowable instrument under section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
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 76/19 to correct an unsafe situation on Beechcraft 76 series aircraft. As a result of numerous major defect reports from operators, a problem was identified relating to corrosion inside the flaps of Beechcraft 76 series aircrafts. The State of Design for this type, USA, has not yet taken action to correct this unsafe condition. As there are many examples of the Beechcraft 76 model on the Australian register, CASA has developed an AD to correct the problem on Australian aircraft.
CASA has consulted with the Australian industry and public through the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) process by issuing of NPRM 0402CS dated June 2004 for public comment. The Notice of Final Rule 0402CS making was released September 2004.
The Office of Regulatory Review has determined that ADs do not require a Regulatory Impact Statement.
The AD has been made by the Head of Airworthiness Standards, Airworthiness Standards Branch, Standards Division, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988.