Overview

Part 121 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) – Australian air transport operations – larger aeroplanes, and its Manual of Standards (MOS) will contain the additional safety rules for air transport operations in larger aeroplanes.

The rules in this consultation will apply to multi-engine aeroplane air transport operations (including passenger, cargo and medical transport operations) with a maximum operational passenger seating capacity of more than nine seats or a maximum take-off weight of more than 8,618 kgs. The proposed rules in this consultation do not affect the single-engine aeroplanes operated under Subpart 121.Z.

The standards in the Part 121 MOS are derived mainly from existing standards which are in the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR), Civil Aviation Orders (CAO) and various instruments. Where appropriate for Australian operations, these standards have been aligned to international best practice and the standards and recommended practices published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Consultation on the Part 121 MOS is being conducted in three tranches. This is the third tranche and covers the following chapters and topics:

Chapter 2 – extended diversion time operations
Chapter 4 – alternate aerodromes
Chapter 7 – fuel requirements
Chapter 11 – equipment.

This public consultation seeks feedback on tranche 3 of the proposed Part 121 MOS.

Respondents have the opportunity to provide feedback on tranches 1 and 2 if they haven’t already.

Key changes at a glance

There are a number of differences between current requirements and those requirements contained in this draft of the Part 121 MOS. The majority of these requirements have been deliberately designed to be compatible with existing operator practices. The changes would:

for weather conditions at Extended Diversion Time Operation (EDTO) alternates, operators will be required to consider weather probabilities below PROB 40
introduce an entirely new alternate aerodromes policy
introduce more outcome-based radiocommunication and navigation equipment standards
update existing GPWS requirements to TAWS – subject to a delay period
extend weather radar fitment to unpressurised turbine-engine aeroplanes and piston-engine aeroplanes
introduce data link communications recording requirements – subject to a delay period
introduce underwater locator device requirements – subject to a delay period
update the supplemental oxygen, protective breathing equipment and first aid oxygen requirements – subject to a delay period for the first aid oxygen requirements
update the ELT requirements – subject to a delay period
introduce specific requirements for first aid kits, emergency medical kits and a universal precaution kit – subject to a delay period for the first aid kit requirements.

Consultation on the rest of the Part 121 MOS

This will be the final public consultation on the chapters of the MOS. If you would like to provide additional comments on the previous two tranches, this consultation has set aside two pages specifically for this purpose.

Subject to further discussions with the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel’s Part 121 Technical Working Group (TWG) and the progress of legal drafting, CASA is aiming is to make the Part 121 MOS into law in early December 2020. This will provide time to analyse feedback, discuss changes with the TWG and undertake the administrative processes associated with making the MOS into law.

How Part 121 works in conjunction with Part 91 general operating and flight rules

Regulation 91.035 contains a table that 'turns off' or disapplies certain Part 91 requirements in favour of Part 121 requirements. In relation to air transport operations, certain Part 91 rules are turned off because either the Part 121 rules have specified a higher safety standard or the requirement to hold an AOC has put in place system-based safety defences that achieve the safety standards by alternative means.

How Part 121 works in conjunction with Part 119 (air transport certification requirements)

Part 119 outlines the rules for applicants and holders of Air Operator's Certificates (AOCs). Part 121 operations are not authorised to be conducted unless the operator meets the requirements in Part 119 for the issue of an Australian air transport AOC. Generally Part 119 of CASR will specify the organisational requirements and the specific air transport operational Part (i.e. Part 121 in this case) will state the operational standard. Both CASR Parts must be read in conjunction, to gain a full understanding of a topic. One example of this kind of interaction is:

Part 119 requires an Australian air transport operator to have a training and checking system and specifies the broad requirements and characteristics of that system but
Subparts 121.N and 121.P specify the operational requirements for that system specific to Part 121 operators and include the detailed rules for the training and checking of the flight crew and cabin crew members.

Overlap with Part 135 - Australian air transport operations – smaller aeroplanes

Subpart 121.Z specifies that certain single-engine aeroplanes used in air transport operations must comply with Part 135 of CASR and a small number of additional requirements. Outside of the regulations contained in subpart 121.Z, none of the other regulations within Part 121 or any of the Part 121 MOS content, applies to the operation of these aeroplanes during an air transport operation.

Previous consultations

CASA publicly consulted the Part 121 regulations in 2015. An indicative only version of the Part 121 MOS accompanied that consultation. Multiple industry working group sessions provided feedback on the Part 121 regulations prior to that consultation but were not asked to provide detailed feedback on the indicative MOS. CASA conducted a similar public consultation of the regulations in 2018 due to significant changes to match the new Part 91 and the indicative MOS was provided as part of that consultation. On isolated occasions in early and late 2019, CASA engaged with the TWG on specific MOS topics that are not part of this tranche. In the second and third quarters of 2020, CASA and the TWG have frequently discussed the specific drafts of the Part 121 MOS chapters. A large number of individual alterations were made to the draft MOS as a result of these consultations.

Why your views matter

This consultation seeks feedback on the proposed Part 121 MOS. The survey has been designed to give you the option to provide feedback on the survey in its entirety or to provide feedback on the policy topics applicable to you.

We are consulting to ensure that the proposed new standards in the Part 121 MOS are clearly articulated and will work in practice. Your feedback will make a valuable contribution to our standards development and making process and help to inform any future regulatory change. Comments on the CD 2012OS should be submitted through the online response form.

Documents for review and reference

All documents related to this consultation are attached in the ‘related’ section at the bottom of the page. They are:

Summary of proposed change on CD 2012OS, which provides background on the proposed standards
Exposure Draft Part 121 MOS – new chapters 2, 4, 7 and 11 (for completeness the draft also includes the tranche 1 and 2 chapters)
Civil Aviation Safety Amendment (Part 121) Regulations 2018 (F2018L01784)
Civil Aviation Safety Amendment (Operations Definitions) Regulations 2019 (F2019L00557)
Civil Aviation Safety Amendment (Part 91) Regulations 2018 (F2018L01783)
Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (Flight operations – miscellaneous amendments) Regulations 2020 (F2020L01283)
Unofficial consolidated CASR Dictionary – (combines the official CASR Dictionary and the official amendment regulation incorporating the operations definitions)
MS Word copy of this consultation for ease of distribution and feedback within your organisation.

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.

Please read the Summary of proposed change (CD 2012OS) consultation document before providing your feedback in the online survey.

CASA highly recommends the use of the ‘unofficial consolidated CASR dictionary’. Some minor differences exist between this document and the ‘Operations Definitions’ regulation however these are isolated to the sport and recreation sectors and do not affect any of the content of this proposed MOS.

What happens next

At the end of the response period for public comment, we will review each comment and submission received. All comments will be considered. We will make all submissions publicly available on the CASA website, unless you request your submission remain confidential. Relevant feedback that improves upon the proposed standards and is consistent with the regulations and other CASA policy, will be incorporated into the final MOS.

At the conclusion of this tranche of Part 121 MOS consultation, we will publish a Summary of Consultation which summarises the feedback received across all three tranches, outlines any intended changes and details the next steps for the MOS and the proposed regulation changes. The Part 121 MOS will come into effect on 2 December 2021 when the Part 121 regulations also start.

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