Proposed amendment to Part 61 Manual of Standards - Spin avoidance and stall recovery training - (CD 1913FS)

Overview

Recovery from departures from controlled flight—in particular stall and spin—has long been a required competency in flight training and is described in the Part 61 Manual of Standards (MOS). Recent fatal accidents have highlighted the need to remind pilots, flight instructors and flight training operators of the risks associated with stall and spin training, and to review flight training practices in Australia and worldwide.

The present practice of ‘incipient spin’ training and testing raises inconsistencies with the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1988 (CASR) and the supporting Part 61 MOS with respect to flight training and testing. Induction of a spin for training purposes:

• is not compliant with the flight manual limitations of many aircraft used for flight training
• is not compliant with the flight manual limitations of many flight training aircraft in use at Part 141 and 142 flight training organisations
• requires the flight instructor to hold a spinning training approval not required, or trained for, during the issue of a flight instructor endorsement (a grade 3 flying instructor endorsement requires a spinning flight activity endorsement for upright spinning as the margin of safety required for the flight instructor to recover the aeroplane from a mishandled stall recovery)
• would require the student to hold a spinning flight activity endorsement to practise spin recovery at any phase as a solo exercise.

Based on community feedback CASA is adopting the policy taken by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other national aviation authorities, to replace training and testing in the induction of, and subsequent recovery from the incipient stage of a spin with spin avoidance and the recovery from a stall with a wing drop.

This consultation proposes an amendment to the Part 61 MOS to replace the present ‘incipient spin manoeuvre’, which calls for the entry to a spin induced with the application of pro-spin rudder at the stall, with a ‘stall with a wing drop’ exercise which requires yaw to be prevented should the aircraft exhibit a wing drop at the stall in any configuration or manoeuvre called for in the flight training standard.

Once in force the Part 61 MOS exercises will form the foundation for spin avoidance and stall recovery training consistent with ICAO and international training practices, and will apply to:

• all pilots
• flight instructors
• flight trainers for the purposes of endorsement
• Heads of Operations at Part 141 and 142 flight training organisations
• flight examiners.

Guidance material

The changes to the Part 61 MOS are supported by new advisory circular (AC) 61-16 v1.0 - Stall recovering and spin avoidance - training and practice, on which consultation has recently been completed and the  summary of consultation, published.

The purpose of AC 61-16 v1.0 - Stall recovery and spin avoidance - training and practice, is to

• clarify the differences between wing drop at the stall and spin at the incipient stage
• discuss certification standards and the margins of safety provided in specific modes of flight
• suggest scenarios for the conduct of advanced stalling exercises, in particular stalls with a wing drop, consistent with spin avoidance and stall recovery training principles used in ICAO upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT).

The training and assessment conducted by a person authorised by CASA is specified in the Part 61 MOS. AC 61-16 v1.0 would support the ongoing activities of CASR Part 61 – Flight crew licensing, where the regulations require that flight training must be conducted by an operator authorised by CASA under Part 141 or 142, in accordance with an approved syllabus of training.

The proposed changes to the Part 61 MOS and advice provided in AC 61-16 v1.0 would provide for and support change to the practice of advanced stall training. It would remove the requirement for recovery of spins at the incipient stage, in favour of avoiding spins by recognition of and recovery from, wing drop at the stall. This would be consistent with spin avoidance and stall recovery training principles used in ICAO upset avoidance and recovery training (UPRT).

Why your views matter

CASA recognises the valuable contribution community and industry consultations make to the policy decision-making process and future regulatory change. We are seeking your feedback to ensure that the proposed amendments are clearly articulated and will work in practice and as they are intended. Please take this opportunity to provide your views on the proposed amendment.

Comments on CD 1913FS should only be submitted through the online response form.

Documents for review

A copy of the Summary of proposed change CD 1913FS and other documents related to this consultation are provided below in the ‘Related’ section. These documents include:

• Summary of proposed change on CD 1913FS
• Part 61 MOS - Schedule 2 - Competency standards
• Part 61 MOS - Schedule 5 - Flight test standards
• Consultation Draft - Part 61 Manual of Standards Amendment Instrument 2020 (No. 1)
• AC 61-16 v1.0 – Spin avoidance and stall recovery training
• MS Word – Copy of online consultation - Proposed amendment to Part 61 Manual of Standards spin avoidance and stall recovery training - (CD 1913FS) 

The MS Word copy of this consultation is for ease of distribution and feedback within your organisation. Please note the word document is not to be used as an emailed submission, unless there are extenuating circumstances and this form of submission has been agreed to by the consultation project lead.

General comments and file upload option

There is a general comments page at the end of the consultation. You can place your comments on matters related to the proposed regulatory amendment, which have not already been addressed in the consultation, into the comments box on this page.

CASA can no longer offer the option to upload files because of the potential risk of malware. 

Using an iPad

If you are using an iPad to complete the survey you will be asked to 'download the relevant PDF'. Depending on the software you have on your iPad you may need to download the free viewer to review the single document PDF files. Where a file is a 'multi-file or portfolio PDF you will need to source the Adobe free view - available from iTunes.

What happens next

At the end of the response period for public comment we will review each comment and submission received. We will make all submissions publicly available on the CASA website, unless you request your submission remain confidential. We will also publish a Summary of Consultation which summarises the feedback received.

What can you expect once the proposed amendments have been made to the Part 61 MOS?

CASA estimates that these amendments will generate safer training outcomes and align national flight training and testing standards with international and ICAO practices.

As a result of the amendments:

• There will be no requirement for a flight training operator to have fleets of aircraft capable of intentional spinning. This will be practical for operators who do not have such aircraft and create a point of difference for flight training organisations that do.
• Flight training organisations will be able to differentiate between training applications for different aircraft, as already occurs for navigation training in the step from smaller aircraft used for general handling training to aircraft with a higher cruising speed, and to constant speed propeller units and retractable undercarriage.
• Flight training organisations with aircraft certified for intentional spinning may promote spinning training and spinning flight activity endorsements as a complement to all licence classes.
• Flight training organisations and flight instructors wishing to conduct spin recovery training or training for the purposes of the issue of a spinning flight activity endorsement will continue to require a spinning training endorsement.

CASA anticipates operators will already be complying with the proposed amendments in accordance with the recently published guidance material in AC 61-16 – Spin avoidance and stall recovery training. Operators should amend their syllabus of training where it includes reference to the term ‘incipient spin’ and notify CASA of the non-significant change not later than 1^st September 2020.

Information about how we consult and how to make a confidential submission is available on the CASA website .

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