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CIVIL AVIATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1991 NO. 247

STATUTORY RULES 1991 No. 247

(ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR SHIPPING AND AVIATION SUPPORT)

CIVIL AVIATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Subsection 98(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act and in particular in relation to the safety of air navigation.

The purpose of these regulations is to amend the Civil Aviation Regulations (the Principal Regulations) in relation to authorised landing areas, see and avoid operations and operational control.

Authorised Landing Areas

Previously regulation 89 of the Principal Regulations empowered the Authority to authorise places which were not government aerodromes, licensed aerodromes or military aerodromes to be used as aerodromes for the take-off and landing of aircraft. The previous practice was for the Authority to issue general instruments of authorisation under regulation 89 which allowed any place to be used as a landing or take-off area provided that the place satisfied the specifications set out in the instruments. The Authority did not actually inspect and authorise individual places.

The Principal Regulations have been amended by repealing regulation 89 so that Authority approval will no longer be required for places to be used as landing and take-off areas. Under the new procedures an aircraft will be able to take-off from, and land at, any place provided the place is suitable for use as an aerodrome and provided that, having regard to all the circumstances at the time of the proposed take-off or landing (including the prevailing weather conditions) the aircraft can take-off from, or land at, the place in safety.

The amendments will not reduce the level of air navigation safety as even under the previous system of authorisations it was ultimately a matter for the pilot in command to determine that a place that was to be used as a landing or take-off area satisfied the requirements of a general instrument of authorisation. Essentially this was really a decision that the place was suitable, from a safety point of view, for use as a landing or take-off area.

The amendments will only apply to smaller aircraft as operators of larger aircraft will still be required by other legislative provisions and by the conditions of their air operators certificates to land at or take-off from Government or licensed aerodromes.

The amendment will bring Australia into line with the practice in other leading aviation countries.

See and Avoid

The Principal Regulations have also been amended by replacing the previous regulation 163A with a provision more along the lines of the see and avoid provision in the USA Federal Aviation Regulations.

This was necessary because the wording of the previous provision was different from the USA provision (which is familiar to all pilots and air traffic controllers). As a result, the previous provision was causing some operational difficulties. The new regulation 163A, which will bring the Australian provision into line with the USA provision, will overcome those difficulties.

Consequential amendments relating to operational control

The Principal Regulations were recently amended to vest responsibility for the operational control of aircraft in pilots in command (i.e. pilots in command were made responsible for the start, continuation and end of a flight). However, at the time of making the amendments some minor consequential amendments were overlooked. For example, subregulation 174(2) continued to provide that in respect of flights conducted under the visual flight rules (VFR), visibility for take-off and landing was to be determined by Air Traffic Control. Given that under the recent operational control amendments the pilot in command was responsible for the start and end of a flight, subregulation 174(2) needed to be amended to reflect the new requirements relating to the division of responsibility. A similar amendment was also needed in relation to flights conducted under the instrument flight rules (IFR).

Accordingly regulation 174 (VFR flights) has been amended and a new regulation 176A (IFR flights) has been inserted into the Principal Regulations to make it clear that it is the pilot in command who is responsible for determining the visibility for the take-off and landing of aircraft.

Details of the proposed Regulations are attached.

The proposed Regulations will commence on the day of gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

DETAILS OF THE CIVIL AVIATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Regulation 1

This regulation provides that the Civil Aviation Regulations (the 'Principal Regulations') are amended as set out in the Regulations.

Regulation 2

This regulation provides for the repeal of regulation 89 of the Principal Regulations (that regulation previously empowered the Authority to authorise any place which was not a government aerodrome, a licensed aerodrome or a military aerodrome to be used as an aerodrome for the landing and take-off of aircraft). As a result of this amendment consequential amendments are required to regulation 92 to set out the limitations on when a place that is not a government aerodrome, a licensed aerodrome or a military aerodrome may be used for the landing and take-off of aircraft.

Regulation 3

This regulation amends regulation 92 to make it clear that an aircraft must not land at, or take-off from, a place that is not a government aerodrome, a licensed aerodrome or a military aerodrome unless the place is suitable for the take-off and landing of aircraft and, having regard to all the circumstances of the proposed landing or take-off, the aircraft can land at, or take-off from, the place in safety. Under this amendment it will also be a requirement that even at government, licensed or military aerodromes aircraft must not land or take-off unless, in all the circumstances, they can do so in safety.

Regulation 4

This amendment is consequential upon the repeal of regulation 89 and omits the reference to that regulation from subregulation 96(1).

Regulation 5

This amendment repeals the existing regulation 163A and replaces it with a provision that is more in line with the USA Federal Aviation Regulations relating to see and avoid operations. The new regulation places a responsibility on flight crew to keep a look out for other aircraft whenever weather conditions permit, regardless of whether the flight is conducted under the instrument flight rules or the visual flight rules.

Regulation 6

Regulation 6.1 omits subregulation 174(2) of the Principal Regulations which provided that Air Traffic Control was responsible for determining visibility for take-off and landing of aircraft engaged in flights under the visual flight rules (VFR). This provision was inconsistent with recent amendments to the Principal Regulations which vested responsibility for the operational control of aircraft in the pilot in command.

Regulation 6.2 makes it clear that it is the responsibility of the pilot in command of a VFR flight to determine the visibility for the take-off and landing of aircraft.

Regulation 7

This regulation inserts a new regulation 176A into the Principal Regulations to expressly provide that in respect of flights conducted under the instrument flight rules (IFR) the pilot in command is responsible for determining the visibility and cloud base for the take-off and landing of aircraft. This amendment is along the same lines as the amendment made by regulation 6 in relation to VFR flights and is consequential upon the recent amendments to the Principal Regulations whereby responsibility for the operational control of aircraft was vested in the pilot in command.