SAFA Skysailor Magazine

19 November | December 2020 SKY SAILOR from being a member of SAFA in order to be allowed the privilege of flying our aircraft. If you know anyone in this latter group in particular, you may suggest to them to read this article… The perception that we will not or do not do anything in response is erroneous. Currently, we have a number of pilots referred to CASA and these cases are under active investigation. We also have a number of Show Cause notices in the hands of pilots and are awaiting their responses before determining our next course of action. Just to be absolutely clear on why this is important, I’m going to break down how we are granted the privilege of flying our aircraft and what happens when this privilege is ignored or abused. We all learnt this during our training, but it seems well worth to refresh our knowledge. CARs and CAOs The regulations governing flight operations in Australia are the Civil Aviation Regulations (CARs). We are given the ability to fly our aircraft under exemptions from the CARs. The mechanism for this to occur are the Civil Aviation Orders (CAOs). The CARs are passed into Commonwealth Law by the Parliament of Australia. The CAOs are written and administered by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). The three CAOs that apply to us are CAO 95.8, 95.10 and 95.32. CASA have decreed that the exemptions under these CAOs only apply to current financial members of the SAFA, and that they delegate responsibility to the SAFA to adminis- ter operations of aircraft covered by these CAOs. • • If you are not a current financial member of the SAFA and you fly one of our aircraft, you are not operating under the exemptions and you are therefore in breach of the Civil Aviation Regulations. • • If your flight privileges or membership of the SAFA is suspended and you fly one of our aircraft, you are also not operating under the exemptions and you are in breach of the Civil Aviation Regulations. • • If you are not a member in either of these cases, you are also not covered by the insurance policies that allow us to operate, namely our Aviation and Public Liability policies. If you fly and something happens, you will be liable for all claims and damages resulting from that event. There is also the risk that land-owners will close down sites for all pilots because of that lack of liability coverage. What does it mean if you are in breach of the Civil Aviation Regulations? It means that you will be referred to CASA for investigation, and the end point of that process could be the imposition of maximum penalties of fines up to $250,000 and/or two years incarceration for each offence. Now obviously, those maxima would probably be for offences involving disruption of Regular Public Transport flight operations. However, SAFA pilots have received fines in the past and the quantum of these have been in the thousands of dollars. One issued was for failure to carry and use a VHF radio when required to do so. Fun fact. Failing to report a reportable accident or incident is an offence under the Transport Safety Investigation (TSI) Act 2003 and can be prosecuted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). What happens when we receive evidence of wrong-doing? As stated previously, we operate a Just Culture. We look at the evidence presented to us and where there is no evidence of deliberate wrong-doing or negligence, we learn from the event, apply remedies and move on. Where it is clear from our investigations and the evidence that there has been a blatant disregard of the rules around the conduct of operations as described in the SAFA Operations Manual or in the CARs, CASRs and CAOs, SAFA’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) will issue a Notice to Show Cause (form ADM- 10F). This is in effect a ‘Please Explain’. It is ignored at peril. We would advise a prompt and honest account be given – we do have finely tuned bullshit detectors. The response to the Show Cause will vary, depending on the nature of the allegation or offense and the response received. It may be, that no further action is taken or that a caution is issued. If there is further action it could take the form of a suspension of membership and/or qualifications for a set period, or some other action, as the COO sees fit. If your membership or qualifications are suspended, you cannot fly. Where financial membership has lapsed, a series of letters are sent to the member. These escalate in intensity of the message and are again ignored at peril. Where a pilot is identified and they have never been a member of SAFA, they are referred directly to CASA. If the decision is taken to refer the matter to CASA, their processes start rolling. This can take some time and it may appear that nothing is happening. Appearances can be deceiving. If they choose to launch an investigation, the pilots and witnesses will be contacted by them directly. If you are the person at the centre of the investigation, you would be well advised to cooperate fully. They have a number of possible courses of action they can decide upon. If they determine an offence has been committed, they can issue a fine, or they can launch a prosecution. If a fine is issued, we can’t report the particulars due to privacy regula- tions. However, if a matter goes to prosecution, it is then in the public domain and we are under no such constraint in reporting that fact. In the context of the recent pandemic related events, if a site is closed by an administering club, it is closed for all flight operations for everyone. If there is a breach and the club provides the evidence, we act. More generally, if anybody presents substantive evidence to the Operations Team of any breach or illegal operation, we will investigate and where warranted, apply an action or make a referral to CASA. Disregard of the legal framework within which we are privileged to operate, or local protocols relating to opera- tions at sites is really not good. It places continued use of our sites at risk, disrespects the clubs and members that work to ensure those sites can be used and disrespects all of us doing the right thing. We are currently in the final stages of writing the new Disciplinary Procedures Manual with an associated Penalties Register. This will provide clarity and transparency to how we deal with these matters and transition us away from the sometimes cumbersome process that existed under the previous (HGFA) Constitution. I would advise all members to read and gain an understanding of the processes when the Manual is accepted and published. Stay safe.