Proposed change to policy on carriage of personnel involved in firefighting activities - (PP 2406OS)

Overview

We would like your feedback on our policy proposal to allow Part 138 Aerial Work Certificate (AWC) holders to carry firefighting personnel to and from a fireground in rotorcraft for hire or reward.

Fighting fires is a major public interest and benefit activity across Australia. A large number of operators and people, some of whom are volunteers, give their time and expertise to protect the community. Many other first responders are also involved in firefighting related activities. All are there to help, often in difficult situations. We want to ensure aviation safety is appropriate for them with the community interest in mind.

The carriage of personnel involved in firefighting operations is a critical service, which requires effective rules to ensure the safety of the operation, the people involved and property on the ground.

Aircraft operators and fire control agencies have told us the operational environment of the fireground for rotorcraft operations may be more closely aligned with the aerial work rules. They involve operations with a higher level of pre-flight uncertainty about the conditions of the landing site when compared to typical rotorcraft air transport passenger carrying flights.

Air transport rules offer a relatively higher level of safety, reflecting the interests and expectations of our communities. Passengers using air transport services are not expected to have a good understanding of safety issues and risk. Participants of aerial work operations on the other hand, are required to have a reasonable understanding of those issues and risks and are therefore assumed to be informed passengers.

The following is a summary of the areas of differentiation between air transport (other than medical transport) and aerial work operations:

• Air transport operations are more routine whereas aerial work operations are more likely to be changeable, due to the type of operation.
• Aerial work rotorcraft landing sites involve a higher level of pre-flight uncertainty about the landing site conditions.
• Aerial work operations involve the use of an aircraft for a wide range of special purposes which often involve elevated risk compared to air transport.
• Compared to air transport operations, these risks are more variable and require more immediate tactical control methods that are appropriate for the particular operation.
• Passengers using air transport are not expected to be familiar with associated risk and are assumed to be uninformed participants.
• Passengers involved in aerial work operations are expected to be informed about the associated risk.
• Passengers on air transport flights are closely managed by the operator during boarding the aircraft, in-flight and on arrival.

This proposal is to permit the carriage of firefighting personnel as aerial work passengers within the vicinity of a fireground under the aerial work rules as an alternative to the air transport rules.

This proposal is conditional on the implementation of appropriate alternative safety risk controls. This change is intended to reduce complexity and provide additional flexibility to operators conducting these kinds of operations, while maintaining an acceptable level of safety.

The use of restricted category aircraft or carrying more than 9 passengers are outside the scope of this proposal but could be considered in future.

Opportunity to comment

Your feedback will help us make sure the proposed arrangements for the carriage of firefighting personnel are suitable, within the scope of the proposal, consistent with CASA’s regulatory philosophy and respectful of the communities need for a safe and efficient service that supports the delivery of critical firefighting services.

Please submit your comments using the survey link on this page.

If you are unable to provide feedback via the survey link, please email regulatoryconsultation@casa.gov.au for advice.

Documents for review

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

• PP 2406OS – this document is the policy proposal to change the policy on carriage of personnel involved in firefighting activities.
• MS Word copy of online consultation for ease of distribution and feedback within your organisation.

What happens next

At the end of the response period, we will:

• review all comments received
• make responses publicly available on the consultation hub (unless you request your submission remain confidential)
• publish a Summary of Consultation which summarises the feedback received and outlines any intended changes and next steps.

All comments received on the proposed instrument will be considered. Relevant feedback that improves upon the proposed instrument will be incorporated into the final instrument.