Introduction
It is important to note that aviation safety is enabled and ensured by a wide range of mandatory practices, policies, assessments, evaluations, and systems. In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) are key organisations in this regard. In addition, there are central documents that outline the critical expectations on safety for pilots. The core areas include ultimate responsibility and authority, the 90-day experience of three landings and three take-offs, commercial pilot licences, medical certification fitness to fly, safety reporting, and professional excellence for a pilot in command.
CASA and ATSB
CASA: Individual Role and Contribution to Safety
The CASA is a government entity which has a role in regulating the safety of aviation in Australia. The organisation describes its safety contributions: “we license pilots, register aircraft, oversee aviation safety and promote safety awareness. We also make sure that the aviation community and the public use and administer Australian airspace safely” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a, para. 2). In other words, it is directly involved in organising, structuring, and establishing the safety measures in Australian aviation. The CASA was originally established in 1995 in accordance with the Civil Aviation Act of 1988 (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a). It is an independent statutory authority which is managed within the legislative and regulatory frameworks. The CASA has around 800 workers throughout the nation, but its operations are highly dependent on collaborative measures with Airservices Australia and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a). In other words, the CASA enables aviation safety through a tripartite structure of these organisations.
There are seven key areas of focus by the CASA. These include finance, transformation and safety systems, corporate services, legal international and regulatory affairs, stakeholder engagement, national operations and standards, and regulatory oversight (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a). The CASA’s mission is “to promote a positive and collaborative safety culture through a fair, effective and efficient aviation safety regulatory system, supporting our aviation community” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a, para. 14). The vision of the authority is the following: “safe skies for all” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a, para. 13). The core values are excellence, innovation, respect, integrity, fairness, teamwork, and courage (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022a). Therefore, the CASA has a comprehensive stance on how it sees and wants Australian aviation safety to be under the law.
It should be noted that the CASA’s individual role and contribution to safety are multifaceted. For example, “CASA is committed to maintaining the trust and respect of the aviation community” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022b, para. 4). safety, as well as its perception, is closely tied to how respected the field is since it requires mutual cooperation and collaboration to ensure such measures. Another example is that “mindful of the primacy of air safety, CASA takes account of all relevant considerations, including cost” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022b, para. 5). In other words, the CASA prioritises safety within the acceptable range of cost since there is no practicality if a safety measure makes aviation excessively expensive. For instance, “CASA takes risk-based approaches to regulatory action and decision-making” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022b, para. 8). Thus, the authority regulates and enforces the safety protocols within the reasonable risk management domains.
The Civil Aviation Act of 1988 clearly outlines the individual role of the CASA and how it contributes to safety in aviation. These include creating and enforcing safety standards, issuing licenses and certificates, conducting safety surveillance and reviews, and adhering to international developments (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2016a). In addition, the CASA more extensively contributes to aviation safety by encouraging acceptance of the standards and enabling cooperation with all involved parties (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2016a). In order to achieve these objectives, the organisation uses “comprehensive safety education and training programs … accurate and timely aviation safety advice … fostering an awareness … of aviation safety and compliance with relevant legislation” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2016a, p. 15). Therefore, the CASA directly oversees, manages, and regulates aviation safety through standards, training, certifications, and education.
ATSB: Individual Role and Contribution to Safety
In the case of the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau, it is a fully separate organisation from the CASA. The ATSB is “an independent Commonwealth Government statutory Agency. The ATSB is governed by a Commission and is entirely separate from transport regulators, policymakers and service providers” (Australian Government, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2022, para. 1). In other words, the organisation is not included in the tripartite structure of the CASA. The ATSB’s individual role is “to improve safety and public confidence in the aviation, marine and rail modes of transport through excellence” (Australian Government, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2022, para. 2). It contributes to the safety in aviation by facilitating safety awareness and action, recording safety data and research, as well as conducting independent investigations of accidents and safety-related events (Australian Government, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2022). Unlike the CASA, the ATSB is closely interconnected with international organisations, such as the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI), and the International Transportation Safety Association (ITSA) (Australian Government, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2022). In other words, the ATSB does not directly regulate aviation safety but assesses and analyses its existing state to reveal the flaws and monitor the key metrics.
It is important to note that the ATSB was founded due to the Transport Safety Investigation Act of 2003 TSI. According to the law, the individual role of ATSB is to utilise the ‘no blame’ approach (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2016b). Thus, “it is not a function of the ATSB to apportion blame or provide a means for determining liability. The ATSB does not investigate for the purpose of taking administrative, regulatory or criminal action” (Australian Government, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2022, para. 3). In other words, the ATSB contributes to the aviation safety not by direct intervention, but rather intelligence gathering and investigation of the current state of the aviation.
The ATSB independently evaluates the core metrics relevant to aviation safety as well as reports its findings to the public. The organisation does not engage in enforcing standards or imposing punitive measures, which is why it merely informs and analyses safety. Therefore, despite its limited role in terms of actionable prevention of accidents, its contribution to aviation safety in Australia is massive. It essentially does not allow the CASA and its associates to monopolise aviation safety information since the ATSB is independent and internationally supported.
Pilot in Command: Obligations
Authority & Responsibility of Pilot in Command
For a small Part 135 Air Transport company conducting Day-VFR operations with 10 Single-Pilot aircraft with an MTOW under 5700 kg, the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) and the Manual of Standards (MOS) need to be consulted. In the case of the authority and responsibility of the pilot in command, Part 91 of the CASR needs to be consulted since it contains information on general flight and operating rules applicable for Part 135 Air Transport as well. According to 91.215 of the CASR, the authority of the pilot in command begin from the moment “the aircraft’s doors are closed before take‑off; and the time the flight begins” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a, p. 462). The authority ends when “the time the aircraft’s doors are opened after landing; and the time the flight ends” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a, p. 462). In addition, a pilot in command has the ultimate authority, “the maintenance of discipline by all persons on the aircraft,” and the aircraft itself (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a, p. 462). Therefore, the responsibilities include ensuring safe aircraft operation, cargo safety, and safety of all persons.
Responsibilities Before Flight
The responsibilities before flight for a pilot in command include flight preparations, flight notifications, and pre-flight checks. The former includes weather assessments and alternate aerodromes requirements applicable to all Part 135 air transports (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a). The pilot in command must conduct flight notifications and pre-flight checks in accordance with the Part 91 Manual of Standards (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a). These involve aircraft integrity, proper functionality, the fitness of the crew members, hatches, fuel tank caps, panels, access ports, control locks, testing, oxygen, and other details of MOS (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2021a). Therefore, pilots in command must consult Part 91 of the Manual of Standards for more details.
Recent Experience
There is a specific recent experience requirement for pilots in command for single-pilot aircraft with an MTOW under 5700 kg. It is stated that for such aircraft, the first requirement is “(a) 10 hours as pilot in command, or pilot in command under supervision, of a multi-engine aeroplane” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022b, p. 538). The second mandate is “(b) 10 hours as pilot in command, or pilot in command under supervision, of an aeroplane of that kind” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022b, p. 538). Thus, one needs to have 10 hours of recent experience in both a multi-engine aeroplane as well as the Part 135 aeroplane. There are requirements for within 90 days before the flight, depending on day or night experience, such as at least three landings and take-offs (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022b).
Logbooks & Licences
Pilots in command must comply with logbooks and licencing requirements. According to Part 135 of MOS, “the pilot is also required to have successfully completed the operator’s flight crew member proficiency check, and flight crew member line check” (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2021b, p. 86). For single-pilot aircraft, “for paragraph 98(5A) (a) of the Act, CASA may, by legislative instrument, prescribe … flight review or instrument proficiency check” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a, p. 81). In addition, there are English language proficiency requirements as well as commercial pilot licences (CPL) (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2021c). All pilots in command must log their Pilot’s Logbooks by including information such as name, address, signature, day, date, flying hours, and total aeronautic experience (GoFly Online, 2021). The logbook is a legal document which must be filled and logged in accordance with the CASR and MOS.
Fitness to Fly
A pilot in command’s fitness to fly is determined by a medical certification. For a pilot in command operating Part 135 air transport, it is mandatory to have the Class 1 Medical Certificate (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2021d). The key standards include mental fitness, functional capacity, disabilities, and abnormalities (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a). For physical health, the assessments are made in regards to the cardiovascular system, nervous system, vision, hearing, skeletal system, respiratory system, and others in accordance with regulation 67.150 (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022a). In other words, a comprehensive medical examination certification is needed for pilots in command.
Safety Reporting
Pilots in command must engage in safety reporting, including identifying incidents and defects. It is stated that “an aeroplane operator’s exposition must include procedures for the reporting and recording by a flight crew member for a flight of the aeroplane of any of the following that occurs” (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022b, p. 505). The key elements involve aeroplane defect, exceedance of the operating limits, abnormal aeroplane behaviour, abnormal flight conditions, and abnormal instrument indications (The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, 2022b). The procedures must adhere to safe operation and reporting processes.
Amplified Role of Pilot in Command
Pilots in command are the direct representatives of the company, crew, and their educators and trainers. In essence, the pilots are the wings of the plane carrying the lives of the passengers across the skies. It is critical to note that the expectations cannot be lower than the mastership of the craft of piloting and commanding. Excellence is achieved through “regulatory practice essentials, mastering regulatory practice and leading a regulatory system” (Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2022, para. 1). It is relevant to minimise the role of the human factor as well as human error in the process (Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2022c). Any form of error or miscalculation must be studied extensively with the implementation of effective preventative measures (Miller, 2022). Therefore, pilots in command must strive toward excellence in safety and professionalism.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the CASA is a government authority body tasked with licensing, managing, and regulating civil aviation in Australia. However, the ATSB is an independent investigative organisation which utilises the ‘no blame’ approach to assess and analyse the state of current civil aviation safety. The pilot in command of the Part 135 air transport has full and ultimate authority as well as responsibility over an aircraft. There are specific and strict requirements in regard to responsibilities before the flight, recent experience, logbooks and licences, fitness to fly, and safety reporting. The case of responsibilities before flight for a pilot in command might involve flight preparations, flight notifications, and pre-flight checks. It is mandatory to have the Class 1 Medical Certificate for a pilot in command operating Part 135 air transport. Pilots in command must engage in safety reporting, such as identifying incidents and defects.
Reference List
Australian Government, Australian Transport Safety Bureau. (2022) Who we are. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2021a) Part 91 Manual of Standards 2020. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2021b) Part 135 (Australian air transport operations—Smaller aeroplanes) Manual of Standards 2020. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2021c) Pilot licences. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2021d) Classes of medical certificate. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2022a) About CASA. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2022b) Our regulatory philosophy. Web.
Australian Government, Civil Aviation Safety Authority. (2022c) Human factors and safety behaviours. Web.
Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2022) Excellence in professional regulation pilot program. Web.
GoFly Online (2021) GoFly flight training: how to fill in your pilot log book. Web.
Miller, J. (2022) Excellence in pilot training. Web.
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel. (2016a) Civil Aviation Act 1988. Web.
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel. (2016b) Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003. Web.
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel. (2022a) Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998: Volume 2. Web.
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel. (2022b) Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998: Volume 3. Web.