SeldomFixit,
Is there a rule that says that the properly trained and authorised person who performs and certifies the pre-departure inspection is not allowed to then get into the aeroplane and fly it?
Is there a rule that says that a pilot is not allowed to receive training to correctly perform pre-departure inspections?
Why can't a properly trained and suitably authorised pilot conduct a pre-departure inspection and then certify that they have completed it?
The training required to be able to overhaul, repair, replace or modify an aircraft and its systems is essentially irrelevant. No one is asking for permission to train and authorise pilots to swap a donk between sectors at some desolate outback strip. This is about pre-departure inspections. Pilots will not be authorised to fix anything, merely to conduct an inspection to identify if anything needs fixing.
Asking a LAME who is qualified to overhaul, repair, replace or modify an aircraft and its systems to conduct and certify pre-departure inspections all day would be like asking an eminent heart-surgeon to take people’s pulses – it’s simply a poor use of skilled labour.
From the original article :
International standards require a licensed engineer to check every plane before flight, according to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, but the changes would mean a lower standard domestically.
What is this “international standard”? Where is the rule that says that a LAME must perform a pre-departure inspection before an international flight? Having been properly trained and authorised, I have on numerous occasions conducted and certified pre-departure inspections prior to scheduled international passenger flights – some of which were also the aircraft’s first flight of the day. Was this illegal?
SeldomFixit,
Please explain what you mean by,
"...ethically entitled to perform the duties of the other." I am concerned that you seem to be speaking more in terms of an industrial relations demarcation dispute rather than anything to do with safety.