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 raised AD/SUPP/22 to correct an unsafe situation on all helicopters fitted with a rescue hoist and a D-Lok hook. An unauthorised change made by the hook manufacturer resulted in substandard parts being fitted to some hoists. The European Aviation Safety Agency raised an AD covering helicopters of European origin, but the US FAA has yet to act. CASA raised an AD to correct the problem on all Australian helicopters, not just those of European origin. EASA has now amended their AD to require that defective hooks be returned to the hoist manufacturer, so AD/SUPP/22 has been further amended to reflect this change. AD/SUPP/22 Amendment 2 will become effective on 24 September 2009, and cancels and replaces the previous issue.
CASA has not consulted with the Australian industry and public because of the consequences of failure and the resultant urgency of need for action. The burden imposed by this change is very minor, and only a small number of aircraft are likely to be immediately effected by this directive.
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, Initial Airworthiness in the Airworthiness and Engineering Branch on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Act.