Monday, September 27, 2010

Fixed Wing Aircraft

All aviation operations in Australia are controlled by the Civil Aviation Safety
Authority (CASA), under the Commonwealth Civil Aviation Act 1988 and Regulations. Fixed wing aircraft vary from the larger commercial jets to the small engine aeroplane. This guidance note relates to the use of the smaller aircraft for charter operations.

Selection of contractors and aircraft
When selecting contractors and types of aircraft to be used, consider:
• what will the aircraft be used for, e.g. ferrying staff to and from site, transporting equipment, undertaking aeromagnetic surveys, etc.
• seating capacity, average and maximum loads to be carried, range required
• contractor and pilot experience, reliability and record
• liaison between contractor and exploration company so that each other’s needs are fully understood
• maintenance, servicing and fuelling arrangements
• aircraft landing requirements
• adequacy of public liability insurance.
Companies should conduct their own review or audit covering safety procedures, training, pilot experience, maintenance, and public liability insurance of charter operators. This review or audit should be carried out by independent external consultants who are recognised within the industry.

Control of aircraft operations
The pilot is in command of operations affecting the aircraft, but total cooperation is needed from all those using it. Important issues to be remembered include:
• The pilot is the sole arbiter of safety. There should be no harassment, coercion or encouragement to act against the pilot’s judgment.
• It is essential to comply with pilot briefings of passengers concerning in-flight procedures, including emergencies, embarking/disembarking and general safety.
• The pilot is responsible for the loading of any cargo in the aircraft, including overall weight, position of items (balance), and the correct loading and packaging of both general and hazardous cargoes.
• The pilot’s decision is final, but should conform with CASA regulations.
• The pilot is to be briefed about passenger numbers, loads to be moved, and destination.
• The company should appoint a competent experienced person to be in charge of ground operations on remote airstrips.
• The pilot, by law, must be notified of the carriage of any dangerous goods (hazardous cargo). Refer to the International Air Transport Association publication, Dangerous goods regulations.

Airstrips
Airstrips should conform to CASA’s Civil Aviation Advisory Publication No. 92-1(1)
Guidelines for aeroplane landing areas.
General requirements for airstrips include:
• being constructed, so that they are closed by only the heaviest rains
• daily inspection before any aircraft movements
• periodic maintenance
• inspection of regular use airstrips by external consultants during safety audits.
Audits should consider
– layout, design and fencing
– maintenance, usage levels and wet season access
– radio frequencies, survey diagrams and incident reports
• inspection of infrequently used airstrips by vehicle or on foot before use
• low level flyover of unattended airstrips to check obstructions and startle animals into movement
• formal surveys with a summary location diagram to CAA standards kept at
– exploration company head office and appropriate campsites
– air charter operators’ offices and in aircraft used regularly
– Royal Flying Doctor Service operations base.

Night-time operations
Night-flying operations should not be undertaken in remote areas. The significant exception is for an emergency medical evacuation by Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) or aerial ambulance personnel. Night-time operations by the RFDS or aerial ambulance are only possible on airstrips registered with the RFDS or aerial ambulance as having suitable facilities. The pilot and aircraft should have suitable rating and instrumentation.

Safety procedures
Light aircraft should be boarded some distance from the main passenger terminal, and always from ground level because of the danger of the propeller blades. A fixed wing aircraft which has its engines running should not be approached until the blades stop turning. The pilot will direct passengers to the parts of the aircraft that
they are allowed to approach.

Pre-flight briefing and operations plan
Before each flight there should be a two-way briefing between the charter operator (usually the pilot) and the company person responsible for organising the flight. This meeting clarifies the roles and procedures of each person on the flight, the flight plan (destination and distance), confirmation of aircraft and fuel status, search and rescue frequency and location, and the communications frequencies to be used. Anyone with a potentially active role in procedures should be present at the meeting.

Flight plan and passenger list
The pilot should fill in a passenger manifest and leave this with the contract company or company base. For non-routine flights and flights exceeding one hour, way points will be agreed and acknowledged by the company spokesperson. All company charter flights should use GPS navigation aids.

The flight plan for ferry operations can be simply stated. However, the size and location of the area in which aircraft will be operating during reconnaissance operations should be stated concisely. This may be by centre point in Australian Map Grids, latitudes and longitudes and radius, or by specifying corner coordinates of the
block to be covered.

The flight plan and a record of the passenger list should be left with the base ground party, on the day board. Estimated time of arrival should be communicated to the flight destination. A company radio base with a telephone can provide a backup to the search and rescue (SAR) watch facility where communications with CASA may be unreliable (due to poor or doubtful radio reception). The company radio frequency to be used should be made known to all relevant people and a full-time radio operator should be available. Every flight should complete this notification and be acknowledged by the relevant authority/company base, or else the mission should be abandoned.

The agreed company flight plan should not be changed unless the written records are amended before the flight plan is changed, even if it means an unscheduled return. To do so greatly increases the safety risk.  Lodging larger than necessary location areas to gain increased perceived freedom of action is most inadvisable.

Pre-flight passenger briefing
The pilot in command should provide passengers who may not have been at the pre-flight planning meeting with the following safety briefing before every take-off:
• entering, exiting or moving around the aircraft
• operating doors and emergency exits
• locating and operating aircraft radios
• locating and using fire extinguishers
• locating first aid and survival kits (water)
• locating and operating emergency locator beacon
• destination and flight path, any way-points, anticipated flight duration and, during the flight, any unscheduled deviations
• search and rescue watch notification and procedures.

For flights over water, the following should be noted:
• wearing and using life jackets
• locating and operating life rafts
• ditching and leaving the aircraft
• locating and operating the marine/water type emergency locator beacon.
While this may be tedious for experienced people, the procedure protects less experienced personnel and is a check list for everyone.

Passengers should:
• wear seatbelts at all times during flight
• keep seatbelts fastened until the pilot tells them to leave the aircraft
• not smoke during take-off, in flight or landing
• not smoke within 15 metres of the aircraft during re-fuelling operations
• not extend part of the body out of the aircraft (e.g. waving from windows)
• not talk to the pilot during take-off, climb, descent, landing or in bad weather.

In-flight communications and acknowledgments
During the flight, communication should include:
• radio checks from ground base to aircraft
• confirmation of deviation from way points with company representative
• notification to the pilot by all people on the aircraft of any potential complications or hazards associated with approach/landing manoeuvres.

Flight debriefing
On completion of a flight a debriefing should be held between the pilot, passengers and company representative to discuss any safety issues or concerns that may have arisen during the flight. If any concerns raised indicate that any aspect of the flight was at risk, a formal incidents report should be made.

Aircraft operations record book
A durable fastbound book giving details of incoming flight times, passengers and nature of any freight should be kept at each remote site. Details of statistics, incidents, etc. collected as part of the formal safety management system should be crosschecked from site sources into an overall operations record book kept in the company office. Charter operators should also keep a record book of departures and ETAs as a backup.