Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Instructions — GLS approach procedures
Legislation
Section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the Act and in relation to the safety of air navigation.
Under subregulation 179A (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may issue instructions in relation to Instrument Flight Rules (I.F.R.) flights specifying the method by which an aircraft is to be navigated when in such flight. CASA has issued instructions for the navigation of certain I.F.R. landing approach flights at Kingsford Smith International Airport, Sydney (KSA) as follows.
Trial of GLS approaches using GBAS
Under subregulation 173.035 (4) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998), CASA is taken to be a certified designer of instrument approach procedures, including GLS approaches. GLS approaches are aircraft landing approaches in which appropriately equipped aircraft use the Global Navigation Satellite System, augmented by a local ground-based augmentation system (GBAS). The GBAS transmits navigation and GPS correction data to the aircraft.
CASA has delegated its design powers to Airservices Australia (AA). Under this delegation, AA designs new GLS approach procedures for KSA which use the Honeywell Beta+ GBAS facility installed at KSA (the KSA GBAS).
The Airbus Company and the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America have demonstrated to CASA’s satisfaction GLS operational capability using Airbus A380 aircraft and GBAS ground installations similar to that which will be used at KSA. Although the Honeywell Beta+ installation at KSA is a more advanced version of the GBAS installations used in the demonstrations, it does not meet all of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements. A fully ICAO-compliant GBAS is not yet available anywhere in the world, and the trial of the KSA GBAS, subject to safety conditions, will assist in the development of a fully ICAO-compliant GBAS.
In the interests of safety, therefore, CASA has issued previous instruments to enable the GLS approaches at KSA to undergo a suitable trial in association with the KSA GBAS. Qantas Airways Limited (Qantas) had proposed such a trial. Qantas had taken delivery of a number of Airbus A380 aircraft that are equipped with certified GLS-capable receivers and wished to gain GLS operational experience, conduct crew training and demonstrate the capability of the GLS approaches.
Instructions
The instrument applies only to GLS approaches at KSA. It instructs the pilot in command of an aircraft to use the KSA GBAS. It instructs the pilot that he or she may only conduct a GLS approach below the lowest safe altitude on the relevant radar terrain clearance chart if the ceiling is at least 3 000 feet above the terrain and the flight crew has the runway threshold in sight. It instructs the pilot to use the GBAS only in accordance with the Qantas trial.
Conditions
The conditions of the trial require that GLS approaches may only be conducted by specially trained Qantas pilots in Airbus A380 aircraft. The aircraft must be equipped with approved and serviceable GLS receivers identified in the flight manual. A GLS approach must be in accordance with the Qantas Flight Crew Operating Manual. Qantas must make regular incident reports to CASA. Qantas must also provide the flight crew and other relevant personnel with incident and feedback forms and encourage their uninhibited completion and submission for the reports to CASA. CASA must be immediately informed of any matter related to the safety of a GLS approach. GLS approaches must not be used for alternate aerodrome planning or in land and hold short operations.
Legislative Instruments Act
Subregulation 179A (3A) of CAR 1988 declares that instructions not in the form of a Civil Aviation Order are a disallowable instrument. Under subparagraph 6 (d) (i) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA), an instrument is a legislative instrument for section 5 of the LIA if it is declared to be a disallowable instrument in legislation in force before the commencement of the LIA. The instructions are, therefore, a legislative instrument and are subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA.
Consultation
Consultation under section 17 of the LIA has not been undertaken in this case. The instrument is a renewal of instrument CASA 06/09 which ceases to have effect on 31 July 2011. The renewal has been requested by Qantas to enable the extension of the continuing trial of GLS approaches at KSA, using the same Airbus A380 aircraft.
The instrument commences on 1 August 2011 and stops having effect at the end of July 2014.
The instrument has been made by a delegate of CASA under subregulation 11.260 (1) of the CASR 1998.
[Instrument number CASA 331/11]
Overview
The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, amended by the Civil Aviation Amendment (Global Navigation Satellite System) Instrument 2011, introduced a legislative framework to facilitate the trial of Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) approaches at Sydney's Kingsford Smith International Airport. This legislation was enacted to address the need for enhanced safety and efficiency in instrument flight rules (IFR) landing procedures by leveraging advanced satellite navigation technology. The instrument was issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) under the authority granted by section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, which empowers CASA to make regulations concerning air navigation safety. The policy objective was to trial GBAS-enhanced GNSS approaches, specifically using the Honeywell Beta+ GBAS facility installed at the airport, with the aim of developing a fully compliant GBAS system in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. The trial, conducted by Qantas Airways Limited with specially trained pilots in Airbus A380 aircraft equipped with certified GLS receivers, was subject to stringent conditions to ensure safety and gather valuable operational data for future implementation.
Scope and Application
The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, as amended by the instrument CASA 331/11, specifically govern the use of Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) for Global Navigation Satellite System (GLS) approaches at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport (KSA). This regulation applies to pilots in command of aircraft conducting GLS approaches at KSA, specifically those who are part of Qantas Airways Limited’s trial. The regulation mandates the use of the KSA GBAS for such approaches and stipulates that a GLS approach may only be conducted below the lowest safe altitude on the relevant radar terrain clearance chart if the ceiling is at least 3,000 feet above the terrain and the runway threshold is in sight. The aircraft must be Airbus A380s equipped with certified GLS-capable receivers, and the pilots must be specially trained in accordance with Qantas’ Flight Crew Operating Manual. Furthermore, Qantas must report incidents to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and encourage the completion and submission of incident and feedback forms by flight crew and relevant personnel. The instrument is a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, subject to tabling and disallowance in Parliament, and it renews a previous instrument CASA 06/09, effective from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2014.
Key Provisions
The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) include specific instructions for Instrument Flight Rules (I.F.R.) flights, as per subregulation 179A(1) (paragraph 1). Under these instructions, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has specified the method for aircraft navigation during I.F.R. landing approach flights at Sydney's Kingsford Smith International Airport (KSA). These instructions pertain specifically to Ground-based Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (GLS) approaches using the Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS). CASA has delegated its design powers to Airservices Australia (AA) for the development of these GLS approach procedures, which will use the Honeywell Beta+ GBAS facility installed at KSA (paragraph 2).
Pilots in command of aircraft are required to adhere to the instructions provided by CASA, which include using the KSA GBAS for GLS approaches (paragraph 3). These approaches can only be conducted under certain conditions: the ceiling must be at least 3,000 feet above the terrain, and the flight crew must have the runway threshold in sight. Moreover, these GLS approaches can only be performed by specially trained Qantas pilots in Airbus A380 aircraft equipped with approved and serviceable GLS receivers (paragraph 4). Qantas must ensure that all GLS approaches comply with the Qantas Flight Crew Operating Manual, and they must submit regular incident reports to CASA. CASA must be informed immediately of any safety-related matters.
In terms of obligations, Qantas is required to ensure that all GLS approaches are performed by specially trained pilots in Airbus A380 aircraft equipped with approved and serviceable GLS receivers. Qantas must also ensure that all GLS approaches are in accordance with the Qantas Flight Crew Operating Manual and submit regular incident reports to CASA. CASA must be informed immediately of any safety-related matters (paragraph 5). Furthermore, GLS approaches must not be used for alternate aerodrome planning or in land and hold short operations.
The Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA) declares that instructions not in the form of a Civil Aviation Order are a disallowable instrument (subregulation 179A(3A) of CAR 1988, subparagraph 6(d)(i) of the LIA) (paragraph 6). These instructions are therefore a legislative instrument and are subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA. The instrument is a renewal of CASA 06/09 which ceases to have effect on 31 July 2011. The renewal has been requested by Qantas to enable the extension of the continuing trial of GLS approaches at KSA, using the same Airbus A380 aircraft. The instrument commences on 1 August 2011 and stops having effect at the end of July 2014. The instrument has been made by a delegate of CASA under subregulation 11.260(1) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998) (paragraph 7).