Safety | GAA - Page 2

We’re calling for a public inquiry into the CAA

April 5, 2018

The GAA is seeking a public inquiry into the Civil Aviation Authority. On 5 April, the GAA released a report detailing known and alleged CAA failures and shortcomings and another showing the results of the independent CAA client satisfaction survey. The dossier of failures and shortcomings has taken about six years to compile. It contains evidence of failures by the Authority and its governing …

A startling near-miss, but the CAA’s still nowhere in sight

March 29, 2018

This cockpit video recording shows a close shave between two light aircraft, operating somewhere in uncontrolled airspace in New Zealand*. It was taken on a GoPro-type camera in a club aircraft. The two aircraft involved were on a collision course at virtually the same altitude. The near-miss mightily alarmed the crew with the camera, who reported it on a CA005 incident form. But what’s …

2018 January-February Bulletin

March 1, 2018

Urgent warning: Meet this amnesty deadline, or face a hefty fine If you are a commercial or private GA aircraft operator, you need to know right now about the New Zealand CAA’s bizarre behaviour regarding overdue operating reports. The Authority recently began issuing infringement notices and fines to commercial operators who did not send in their quarterly aircraft operating statistics on time. The fine …

A worrying picture of systemic inconsistency at the CAA

January 13, 2018

Inconsistent actions and conflicting demands by Civil Aviation Authority officials are causing confusion and stress, wasting time and costing the CAA and its customers thousands of dollars, says a report. In a 5000-word document sent to CAA Director Graeme Harris, exposition-writing consultants Walter Wagtendonk and Ian Wood highlight – and reject – the behaviour of some CAA personnel who assess Air Operator Certification applications …

2017 December Bulletin

December 31, 2017

The ‘Empty-skies-are-safe-skies’ policy is killing Aussie aviation (and New Zealand has the same symptoms) By DICK SMITH in The Australian, 28 December 2017 I don’t think you should ever regard aviation safety as what is affordable. — Australian Federal transport minister John Anderson, October 5, 2000 I welcome the appointment of Barnaby Joyce as Australia’s new Transport Minister. He certainly has a challenge in …

A proposal to challenge the new CAA levies

May 27, 2017

By now, operators will have received a letter and information booklet from the CAA detailing the new safety levies that will take effect from 1 July 2017. These levies have been introduced despite efforts by a number of individuals and organisations to enlighten the CAA and Minister of Transport of the failings in the consultation process, as well as the inequities in the methodology …

Client Satisfaction Surveys in a post-factual world…

March 26, 2017

The CAA is either living in a fools’ paradise and thinks all its customers are happy, or it is deeply afraid to ask them. We can’t think of any other reason why the CAA refuses to hire a neutral organisation and tell it go to the customers and ask some honest questions. We also have convincing proof that no company or organisation can rely …

CAA Notices – The tentacles of regulation just keep growing longer

In mid-February, the CAA announced its intention to publish CAA Notices as a means of ensuring that “the regulatory framework remains responsive and adaptable to change.” On the surface, these objectives almost appear noble. But when we peel back the layers, what emerges is a worrying erosion of the checks and balances that have underpinned aviation rule-making since the early 1990s. A CAA Notice …

CAA funding review: Political leadership is now essential

September 26, 2016

Since our update last month, we’ve achieved much greater clarity around a few things: The Minister of Transport, Simon Bridges, is still waiting for the final Cabinet paper and Regulatory Impact Statement on proposed charges. He believes that these two papers are months away, not weeks. He has given an undertaking that the Chairman of the Board will respond to our letter calling for …

Health and Safety: The plain truth

September 25, 2016

If you believe that H&S is a load of rubbish, give me five minutes to change your mind. It might save your skin – or a fortune in legal costs. Health and Safety aims to reduce the risk of injury or death. You may grizzle about how officialdom tries to do this, but bottom line, it makes sense to avoid injury or death, or …

Category: Safety