Originally Posted by
tail wheel
Any Australian operator wanting to operate a high capacity jet on fire fighting operations would be a masochist to even consider trying to convert an Australian registered aircraft and obtaining an Australian AOC for that type of operation. Have you ever noticed the number of Australian based Executive and Special Purpose aircraft, based and operating in Australia, which are not registered in Australia?
In the case of this aircraft, I believe it’s slightly more complicated than just a rubber stamp. A while back there was some discussion in the Australian media about the fact that NSW purchased that aircraft for a dual role - air tanker and passenger carriage (mostly for fire crews and such) but no passengers were being allowed by the CAA. The CAA received unfair criticism in the media for it. Given that the FAA does not have a certification standard for converted air tankers that carry passengers, the only way the Australian CAA could issue such a certification would be to establish its own standards - for one aircraft. Who should foot the bill for that?