Originally Posted by
J.O.
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?
Considering it's something that's being brought in to serve the public and CASA are the only ones legally able to do this I'd dare say CASA as a Government body probably should, this seems like it would be their entire damned job and they'd be happy to absorb the costs for public benefit.