AIR
SAFETY AUSTRALIA
admin@airsafety.com.au
Fax: 08 8276 4666
Phone: 08 8276 4600
PO
Box 172 Unley South Australia 5061
Come
in, Spinner … or Beware the Trap
In
the supposed "fair go" in
the new Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM)
Rules
Dear
member of AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA,
9th August, 2002
The
new AFM rules come into effect one week from
today, on 16th August 2002.
The
new rules are unnecessary and wrong.
But they are still the Australian Law and
you ignore them at your peril - whether you are
pilot, owner, or operator.
CASA
yesterday issued a Press Release saying that the
new rules will not be enforced until February
2003. That
is a huge trap. CASA can decide whether or not
to enforce the rules.
But CASA cannot change the rules, and the
Press Release points out that the start date of
16th August still stands.
They are Australian Law.
Should you have an accident CASA cannot
shield you from the liability resulting from the
fact that you did not comply with the new rules
- and that liability could run into millions,
compared to a maximum fine of just $5000.
What
will happen if you have an accident when you are
in breach of the new AFM rules?
Firstly,
your Insurer will deny responsibility because of
illegality.
You are in breach of the law, even though
CASA has decided not to enforce the law.
As a large number of former owners,
operators and pilots can tell you, the very
first thing an insurer does after an accident is
make a detailed investigation to find any way in
which the flight was in breach of the law.
If a breach is found, the insurer denies
responsibility.
The owner or pilot can then sue the
insurer and may or may not win - but will
certainly part with a fortune in legal fees.
Secondly,
a passenger who is injured may sue the pilot, or
owner, or operator - or all of the above - on
the grounds that the flight was being conducted
illegally.
CASA
did not make these new rules and cannot change
them. It
was the Minister for Transport, John Anderson,
who with the approval of Parliament, made the
rule outlawing the Traditional Australian Flight
Manual (TAFM) - and only he or Parliament can
change it.
There
was no need to outlaw the TAFM for those who
want it. It
is plain silly to have a law on the books which
is not enforced.
But that is what has happened - the
Minister has made an unnecessary law, and the
regulator has decided not to enforce it.
Which leaves us as the meat in the
sandwich.
Do
you, as a member of AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA, want
to take part in a campaign to have the starting
date of the new rules put back to 1st
February 2003, and to re-examine the question of
outlawing the TAFM at all?
We have a reasonable chance of winning
such a campaign.
If a substantial number of our members
send us back a fax or an e-mail saying YES, then
we'll run such a campaign.
Act now if you want something done.
Whatever you do, don't fly unless you
comply with the new rules or accept the risks of
not doing so.
If
you want any of the background information, such
as a copy of the rule
or of CASA's Press
Release, just contact our office (by e-mail
if possible, please).
All the material is on our website, of
course. Please
don't ask us what is right in a particular case
because the sad fact is that we do not know -
and nor does CASA.
What we do know is that there was no need
for the Minister to have outlawed the TAFM in
the first place.
It should be an allowable alternative,
but after 15th August 2002 it's not.
Boyd Munro, 9th August 2002.
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