Instrument number CASA EX226/15

I, MARK ALAN SKIDMORE, Director of Aviation Safety, on behalf of CASA, make this instrument under regulation 11.160 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998.

[Signed Mark Skidmore AM]

Mark Skidmore AM
Director of Aviation Safety

24 December 2015

Exemption — aerial application rating and firefighting endorsement

1 Duration

 This instrument:

(a) commences on the day of registration; and

(b) expires at the end of 31 August 2016, as if it had been repealed by another instrument.

2 Definitions

 (1) In this instrument, unless a contrary intention appears, words have the same meaning as in Part 61 of the CASR 1998:

AOC means Air Operator’s Certificate.

CAO means Civil Aviation Order.

CASR 1998 means the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998.

firefighting operation means an aerial work operation (including an application operation) involving the application or dropping of water or fire retardant for the purposes of fighting, controlling or extinguishing fire.

operator means the holder of an AOC which authorises a firefighting operation.

Note   The AOC may be one issued for firefighting aerial application operations in an aeroplane under Part 137 of CASR 1998, or one for aerial work operations involving dropping from a helicopter.

 pilot means the pilot of an aircraft in a firefighting operation who:

(a) immediately before 1 September 2014, held a licence mentioned in column 1 of an item of the following table and an agricultural pilot rating (helicopter or aeroplane) grade 1 or 2; and

(b) immediately before the commencement of this instrument held, or was taken to hold, a licence mentioned in column 2 of the same item:

Note   By virtue of transitional regulation 202.263 of CASR 1998, a person who held a licence mentioned in column 1 of the Table is taken to hold the corresponding licence mentioned in column 2.

 (2)In this instrument, a reference to the number of a provision or Table using the prefix 61, is a reference to the corresponding provision or Table in Part 61 of CASR 1998.

3 Application

 (1) This instrument applies, according to its terms, to a pilot.

 (2)This instrument applies, according to its terms, to an operator.

4 Exemptions

 Schedule 1 makes exemptions which are subject to the conditions mentioned in Schedule 2.

Schedule 1 Exemptions — pilots

Aircraft (aeroplanes and helicopters)

 1The pilot of an aircraft is exempt from subregulation 61.065 (1) — but only to the extent that the activity the pilot conducts is a firefighting operation to which this exemption instrument applies.

Note   Under subregulation 61.065 (1), but for the exemption, it would be an offence to fly in a firefighting operation without full compliance with the requirements of Part 61.

 2The pilot of an aircraft is exempt from paragraph 4.11 of CAO 29.5 (being section 29.5 of the CAOs as contained in CAO (No. R25) 2004, as amended) — but only to the extent that the pilot must be authorised under a provision of Part 61 from which the pilot is exempted by this section.

Aeroplanes only

 3The pilot of an aeroplane is exempt from the requirement in regulation 61.1100 — but only to the extent that, to conduct a firefighting operation in an aeroplane, the pilot is required to hold an aeroplane firefighting endorsement in accordance with item 4 of Table 61.1120.

Note   The pilot of an aeroplane in a firefighting operation must hold, or be taken to hold, an aerial application rating in accordance with item 6 of Table 61.375. By virtue of transitional regulation 202.263 of CASR 1998, he or she would be taken to hold an aerial application rating if, immediately before 1 September 2014, he or she held an agricultural pilot (aeroplane) rating grade 1 or 2 under CAO 40.6, as in force immediately before 1 September 2014, for which the new authorisation equivalent is an aerial application rating with an aeroplane aerial application endorsement. However, the pilot is exempt from the requirement to hold an aeroplane firefighting endorsement.

Helicopters only

 4The pilot of a helicopter is exempt from subregulation 61.375 (7) — but only to the extent that, to conduct a firefighting operation in a helicopter, the pilot is required to hold an aerial application rating in accordance with item 6 of Table 61.375.

 5The pilot of a helicopter is exempt from the requirement in regulation 61.1100 — but only to the extent that, to conduct a firefighting operation in a helicopter, the pilot is required to hold a helicopter firefighting endorsement in accordance with item 5 of Table 61.1120.

Operators (aeroplanes)

 6The operator of an aeroplane is exempt from subregulation 137.235 (1) of CASR 1998 — but only to the extent that the pilot in command of the operator’s aeroplane in a firefighting operation must be authorised under a provision of Part 61 from which the pilot is exempted by clause 3.

Schedule 2 Conditions — pilots

Aircraft (aeroplanes and helicopters)

 1 The pilot of an aircraft may only conduct the firefighting operation in an aircraft operated under an operator’s AOC.

Note   The AOC may be one issued for firefighting aerial application operations in an aeroplane under Part 137 of CASR 1998, or one for aerial work operations involving dropping from a helicopter.

Aeroplanes only

 2 The pilot of an aeroplane must hold, or be taken to hold, an aerial application rating under subregulation 61.375 (7) and item 6 in Table 61.375.

 3 The pilot must have accumulated not less than 1 000 hours flight time as pilot in command of an aeroplane engaged in aerial application operations or low-level operations or any combination of the 2.

 4 Before conducting a firefighting operation, the pilot must have completed a course of training in the conduct of firefighting operations conducted by an operator in accordance with the operator’s operations manual.

Note   See the Note to clause 3 in Schedule 1.

 5 Before commencing a firefighting operation, the pilot must hold a valid operator proficiency check in accordance with regulation 137.240 of CASR 1998, demonstrating competency to conduct firefighting operations:

(a) in an aeroplane operated by an operator; and

(b) in accordance with the operator’s operations manual.

Helicopters only

 6 The pilot of a helicopter in a firefighting operation involving sling operations, must, immediately before 1 September 2014, have held:

(a) a certificate of competency in sling load operations in a helicopter in accordance with CAO 29.6 as in force immediately before 1 September 2014; and

(b) a helicopter licence, mentioned in column 1 of the definition of pilot in section 2, which was in force and endorsed with a helicopter sling load endorsement.

 7 The pilot must have accumulated not less than 300 hours as pilot in command of a helicopter engaged in aerial application operations or low-level operations or any combination of the 2.

 8 Before conducting firefighting operations, the pilot must have completed a course of training in the conduct of firefighting operations and be assessed as being competent to conduct firefighting operations:

(a) in aircraft operated by an operator; and

(b) in accordance with the operator’s operations manual.

 9 For clause 8, the assessment must be in accordance with the procedures in the operator’s operations manual, or training and checking manual.

Operators (aeroplanes or helicopters)

 10The operator of an aeroplane must ensure that, before commencing a firefighting operation under the operator’s AOC, the pilot of the aeroplane complies with clauses 1, 3, 4 and 5 of this Schedule 2.

 11 The operator of a helicopter must ensure that, before commencing a firefighting operation under the operator’s AOC, the pilot of the helicopter complies with clauses 1, 7, 8 and 9 of this Schedule 2.