AD/ROBIN/39 - State of Design Airworthiness Directives

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.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority of New Zealand has issued ADs as listed in Schedule 1 affecting Alpha Aviation Robin series aeroplanes.  New Zealand is now the State of Design for these aeroplanes which was previously held by France.

CASA has reviewed the ADs issued by the CAA (NZ) and has determined that the ADs listed in Schedule 1 may be applicable to Australian aircraft.  The ADs listed in Schedule 1 require either one time actions for which the compliance date and/or period has passed or multiple inspection/actions until a terminating action has been applied and the compliance date and/or period for the terminating action has passed.
 

CASA has issued AD/ROBIN/39 which will become effective on 5 December 2007.

As this AD is issued because of Australia’s obligations under Convention on International Civil Aviation, and because it is issued in response to an AD 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 Acting Manager, Systems in the Airworthiness Engineering Branch, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Act.

Schedule 1