DP 1212OS – AOC requirements for domestic cargo transport services in small aeroplanes and rotorcraft
Background
Cargo carriage in small aircraft for commercial purposes is currently regulated as a charter operation under the Paragraphs 206 (1) (b) or (c) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988. The operator certification and operating standards for Charter flights are, in some important respects, lower than those for Regular Public Transport (RPT) flights.
Under the new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998), the distinction in the regulations between Charter flights and RPT flights will for most purposes disappear. Both types of flights will be regulated as Air Transport Operations, to a common standard appropriate to the size of the aircraft.
The proposed Part 119 of CASR 1998 – Australian air transport operators – certification and management will prescribe the operator certification (AOC) requirements for air transport operations conducted in rotorcraft and aeroplanes.
Proposed Parts 133 and 135 of CASR 1998 contain the operating standards for rotorcraft and small aeroplanes used in air transport operations, which will be in addition to the general flight and operating standards in proposed Part 91 of CASR 1998.
The operator certification (AOC) standards proposed in Part 119 of CASR 1998 will include a number of administrate requirements and management systems that operators will be required to establish in order to be granted an AOC for air transport operations.
On a risk management basis, it is questionable whether some or all of the requirements proposed for Part 119 of CASR 1998 are appropriate or necessary for cargo carriage in small aircraft for commercial purposes. Cargo carriage in small aircraft generally involves take-off from and landing at the same series of aerodromes and is usually conducted repetitively over well-known and established routes.
The management systems called up by the proposed Part 119 of CASR 1998 are arguably less relevant and not as critical for small operators conducting these types of flights, compared to larger operators with more complex operations.
For the purposes of this consultation, rotorcraft sling load operations are considered to be aerial work operations and are outside the scope of this DP.
For the purposes of the regulatory options discussed in this DP cargo transport is internal cargo only.
How to respond
Please forward your response to CASA by 28 November 2012 by one of the following means:
Online response form
Fax Standards Documentation Coordinator 1800 653 897 (free call) or international +612 6217 1691
Post (no stamp required in Australia)
Reply Paid 2005
Standards Documentation Coordinator
CASA’s Standards Development Branch
Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
email (use the response format in the DP) dp1212os@casa.gov.au
Additional information
Contact: Andrew Ward, Project Leader
Email: andrew.ward@casa.gov.au
