Flight manual requirements for amateur-built experimental aircraft

CASA response to Safety Recommendation SR-008

Safety Recommendation AO-2014-163-SR-008 is for CASA to address the safety issue and take action to address the lack of regulatory requirements for builders of amateur built experimental aircraft to produce a flight manual, or equivalent, for their aircraft following flight testing.

On this occasion CASA does not accept the ATSB recommendation. CASA currently recommends a flight manual be produced for experimental amateur built aircraft, noting they operate to a different standard to other categories of aircraft. In the case of experimental  amateur built aircraft, the necessary flight restrictions and information about the aircraft, such as weight and balance, are established as part of the flight test programme and are included on the experimental certificate, or other appropriate method such as placards or a flight manual. Therefore, CASA considers that subsequent owners and pilots other than the original owner/builder/pilot should still be able to access necessary information through these sources. CASA does not believe this incident in isolation provides sufficient justification for CASA to mandate the documentation of the relevant information referred to in the recommendation, given the other safety protections that are already established.

CASA clarification to their response to Safety Recommendation SR-008

Following a query from the ATSB, CASA provided the following clarification:

...The authority to grant an experimental certificate subject to a condition is specified in paragraph 11.056(1 )(ac) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR), which provides that CASA must be satisfied that such a condition is necessary 'in the interests of the safety of other airspace users or persons on the ground or water'

Subregulation 262AP(3) of the Civil Aviation Regulation 1988 restricts the operation of an experimental aircraft to an assigned area and limits the carriage of persons other than essential crew members until it has been demonstrated that the aircraft:
(a) is controllable throughout its normal range of speeds and throughout all manoeuvres to be executed; and
(b) has no hazardous operating characteristics or design features.

To be eligible for an experimental certificate of airworthiness, an applicant is required to provide, amongst other things: upon inspection of the aircraft, any information reasonably needed by CASA or the authorised person or relevant approved design organisation to enable it to impose any conditions, including operational limitations, necessary in the interests of the safety of other airspace users and persons on the ground or water. [CASR 21.193( c)]

On this basis, an aircraft manufacturer or designer may require operating information to be displayed on a placard or in some other manner (e.g., in a flight manual). However, there is no regulatory requirement or explicit authority in the regulations for these performance figures or critical speeds for an amateur built aircraft issued with a Special Certificate of Airworthiness under CASR 21.191 (g) to be similarly displayed.

After review, it is more appropriate that CASA's statement be modified to read: 'In the case of experimental amateur built aircraft, the necessary flight restrictions and information about the aircraft, such as weight and balance, are established as part of the flight test programme.

Operational Limitations under CASR 11.056 may be included in the annex to the experimental certificate.'

ATSB letter to CASA

The ATSB considers that the combined CASA responses to safety recommendation AO-2014-163-SR-008 do not adequately address the safety issue. The ATSB considers that CASA's responses do not provide adequate assurance that the builder, other pilots, and in particular subsequent owners, of amateur-built aircraft will have valid, reliable and enduring reference to operational and performance data sufficient to safely operate their aircraft.

Following discussion between senior staff at the ATSB/CASA biannual meeting of 16 December, a consensus was reached that the ATSB write to CASA again suggesting that CASA might reconsider its response to safety issue AO-2014-163-Sl-01 in the context of the United States (US) National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety study AAR-1 2-01 on amateur-built aircraft.

This study resulted in the NTSB releasing two safety recommendations to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The recommendations (A-12-029 and A-12-032) related to mandating flight manuals for US amateur-built aircraft. These recommendations highlight similar safety concerns identified in ATSB safety issue AO-2014-163-Sl-01.

In response to the NTSB safety recommendations, the FAA undertook to set up a working group to address the issue. In September 2016, the Administration updated their response to the recommendations indicating that the FAA did not have the resources to conduct rule changes. The FAA indicated that instead it would update the relevant Advisory Circular to provide for a requirements-based Phase 1 flight test that would result in flight test data being documented.

On 17 October 2016 the NTSB accepted that the FAA's update of the relevant Advisory Circular had the potential to ensure that US amateur-built aircraft flight test data would be documented. As a result, the NTSB set the status of safety recommendations A-12-029 and A-12-032 to 'Open-acceptable alternate response' pending a review of the FAA's actions.

The ATSB remains of the view that ensuring operators of amateur-built aircraft in Australia have access to relevant operational and performance data would provide a significant safety benefit at what would appear to be minimal cost. In this context, the ATSB considers that CASA may wish to consider action similar to that of the FAA in response to the NTSB safety recommendations for application in Australia.