NEW EASA RULE
Any comments on this!!!!
IAOPA-Europe is making a last-ditch attempt to stop the imposition of new regulations on private twin-engined aircraft which would make it illegal for them to land at some 900 European airfields that they have used safely for years. EASA is extending ICAO’s requirement for accelerate-stop distances for multi-engined aircraft to cover not just commercial air transport, as ICAO does, but private flights. This means that safety systems meant by ICAO to protect the paying public will now be forced upon small twins.
As a result, small twins will no longer be able to use runways which are not long enough runway to meet accelerate-stop rules which require an aircraft that has reached flying speed to be able to decelerate and stop before the end of the runway if an engine fails. IAOPA’s Jacob Pedersen argued forcefully against the EASA extension during the consultation phase, but to no avail.
The rule will force some small twin owners, already operating under a costly and onerous regulatory burden, to downgrade to singles in order to continue using their airfields. As Pedersen points out, this means they will become less safe for 99.9 percent of a flight in order to be more safe for a couple of seconds during take-off.
In September Martin Robinson met with Carl Heinz Florenz, a Euro MEP on the Transport Committee, and his advisers to discussed the accelerate-stop requirements and seek ways to get the European Commission to modify them. The figure of 900 airfields has been calculated by AOPA Germany using the Jeppesen database. For many of these airfields, light twins represent premium traffic. Companies like Hawker Beechcraft have woken up to the potential impact on sales of the European rule, for which there is no demonstrated safety need. They want Europe to adopt the ICAO recommendation, which says the accelerate-stop requirements do not apply to non-commercial piston or turbine aircraft below 5,700 kg.
Martin Robinson says: This issue also points up the lack of joined-up thinking among the members states. During the comitology stage, the French delegate voted in favour of this, while his own DGAC was arguing passionately in favour of less onerous regulation of GA. Our only recourse now is to try to get the Parliament to reject it now, although the Parliament doesn’t have a lot of say in these matters. It’s a last-ditch attempt to stave it off.”