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Safety issue
CASA did not seek information to establish whether conditions
'...necessary for the safety of other airspace users and persons on
the ground or water' were required prior to issuing the Special
Certificate of Airworthiness.
Action taken by CASA
In its response to this safety issue, CASA provided the
following reponse to the ATSB on 1 June 2009:
I refer to your email dated 15 May 2009 regarding a further
draft of Transport Safety Report AO-2007-066. I understand CASA has
already provided comments on the safety management issue for the
pilot. However, the current draft of the report appears to have
broadened this issue to include other persons ie "CASA did not
seek information to establish whether conditions '...necessary for
the safety of other airspace users and persons on the ground or
water'" were required prior to issuing the Special Certificate
of Airworthiness.
In CASA's view the new safety issue is irrelevant to the
accident because no other airspace users and persons on the ground
and water were affected. The person who was fatally injured was the
pilot, a participant and fully aware of the risk. CASA did not seek
information '...necessary for the safety of other airspace
users and persons on the ground or water' were required prior to
issuing the Special Certificate of Airworthiness, because it
based the safety determination on the information submitted by the
applicant initially as part of the application and subsequent
flight test plan. This information and the conditions set out on
the Special Certificate of Airworthiness and other required
operational approvals (low level flight over water) are intended to
ensure the safety of other airspace users and persons on the ground
or water.
In those cases where such inquiries are or might be relevant,
CASA will not hesitate to make them and formulate and impose such
additional conditions (if any) as may be necessary in the interest
of safety, on that basis.
ATSB assessment of response
The potential for risk to other parties in relation to the
experimental flight test was identified by CASA in its advice to
the engineer of 29 November. If there had been due consideration of
that potential risk in the operator's application for a Special
Certificate of Airworthiness and 'subsequent flight test plan',
then the additional advice to the engineer, which was provided
after the issue of the certificate, would not have been warranted.
When considering the issue of future Special Certificates of
Airworthiness in the experimental category, CASA needs to be able
to assure itself that adequate information is gathered to enable an
informed decision on the conditions '...necessary for the safety of
other airspace users and persons on the ground or water'.
Safety Recommendation
The ATSB recommends that CASA address this safety issue.
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