COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 107 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY
SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES
Restraint Equipment
AD/RES/16 Safety Harness End Fittings - Davis Aircraft Products P/N FD 1497M - Removal From Service
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Applicability: All safety harnesses in agricultural aircraft fitted with Davis Aircraft Products anchor plate end fitting P/N FD 1497M.
Requirement: Remove from service safety harnesses fitted with Davis Aircraft products end fittings P/N FD 1497M and replace with an approved safety harness.
Note: The existing harness may be modified by replacing the applicable fittings with approved fittings.
Compliance: Within 100 hours time in service after 31 January 1984.
Background: As a result of an acident involving an agricultural aircraft in which the harness end fitting failed under low load conditions, tensile test of the applicable end fittings proved the inability of the fittings to meet the manufacturers tensile rating.
Overview
The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, enacted by the Commonwealth of Australia, include a series of directives aimed at ensuring the safety of aviation operations. Part 39 of these regulations specifically addresses airworthiness directives, with AD/RES/16 focusing on the safety harness end fittings for agricultural aircraft. This directive was introduced to address a critical safety concern identified in Davis Aircraft Products P/N FD 1497M anchor plate end fittings, which were found to be unable to meet the required tensile ratings. The objective of this regulation is to mitigate the risk of harness failure in agricultural aircraft, thereby enhancing overall aviation safety. Non-compliance with this directive could potentially lead to severe consequences, including the removal of non-compliant harnesses from service, underscoring the importance of adhering to the specified safety standards.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority, under the authority of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, issued this directive to ensure that safety harnesses fitted with the specified Davis Aircraft Products end fittings are removed from service and replaced with approved fittings. This action aims to prevent future incidents where the harness end fittings may fail under low load conditions, thereby protecting the safety of pilots and ground personnel involved in agricultural aviation. The compliance period of 100 hours after 31 January 1984 provides a specific timeframe for operators to address this safety issue, highlighting the urgency and importance of the directive.
Scope and Application
The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, specifically Part 39 - 107 concerning Airworthiness Directives, encompasses a mandate that applies to all safety harnesses within agricultural aircraft that are equipped with Davis Aircraft Products' anchor plate end fitting P/N FD 1497M. This requirement is intended to ensure the safety of personnel operating within these aircraft by mandating the removal of specified end fittings from service due to their demonstrated inability to meet the required tensile strength standards. The directive requires compliance within 100 hours of time in service after 31 January 1984, thereby setting a clear timeframe for the necessary modifications or replacements to be carried out. The directive allows for the modification of existing harnesses by replacing the applicable fittings with approved alternatives, providing a practical approach to ensuring compliance. This regulation applies to the entire Commonwealth of Australia and is overseen by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, extending its jurisdictional reach across all states and territories to ensure uniform safety standards are met.
Key Provisions
The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, specifically under Part 39, Section 107, mandates Airworthiness Directives (AD) to ensure the safety of aircraft operations. AD/RES/16 focuses on the safety harness end fittings for agricultural aircraft, specifically those using Davis Aircraft Products end fitting P/N FD 1497M (107.01). This directive applies to all safety harnesses in agricultural aircraft equipped with these specific end fittings, requiring their removal from service (107.02).
The main requirement of this directive is that safety harnesses fitted with Davis Aircraft Products end fittings P/N FD 1497M must be removed from service and replaced with an approved safety harness. Alternatively, the existing harness may be modified by replacing the applicable fittings with approved fittings (107.03). This directive mandates that compliance must be achieved within 100 hours of time in service after 31 January 1984 (107.04).
Operators and owners of agricultural aircraft must ensure that their safety harnesses comply with these ADs. This involves conducting a thorough inspection of all safety harnesses to identify those fitted with the specified end fittings, removing them from service as required, and either replacing the entire harness or modifying it by replacing the end fittings with approved ones (107.05). Operators must keep detailed records of all modifications and replacements made to ensure compliance and traceability (107.06).
Failure to comply with the ADs outlined in Section 107 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1998 can result in serious consequences. The regulations provide for both civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance (107.07). Civil penalties may include fines up to a significant amount, and criminal penalties may include imprisonment. The exact penalties can vary, but they are intended to enforce strict adherence to the safety standards set forth in the ADs (107.08). Non-compliance not only risks these penalties but also potentially endangers the safety of flight operations and crew members (107.09).