Queensland pilot challenges CASA over colour blindness restrictions
Hundreds of pilots with colour vision deficiency fear they could be grounded by CASA as a Queensland pilot mounts a legal challenge to restrictions on his licence.
Maria Hatzakis
Source:
7.30 Queensland | Duration: 7min 34sec
Topics: eyes,
air-transport,
brisbane-4000
Transcript
MATT WORDSWORTH: Our love of flying seems to know no bounds with passenger numbers expected to reach record levels again at Brisbane airport this year. But commercial pilots who are colour blind fear they could be grounded due to their condition. The civil aviation safety authority has written to them and their employers warning that it's considering new research into the safety of flying with a colour vision deficiency. While CASA says existing pilots have no immediate cause for concern Unions say the authority's already tightened flying restrictions for new pilots. The furore comes as a Queensland commercial pilot prepares for a legal challenge next month to have restrictions on his licence removed. Maria Hatzakis reports.
(FOOTAGE OF PILOTS GETTING READY TO TAKE OFF)
MARIA HATZAKIS: Some 36,000 pilots are licensed to fly in Australia about 400 of those are colour blind. There's been debate for decades over whether, a pilot who can't tell the difference between some colours can still fly safely.
DAVID FAWCETT, LIBERAL SENATOR: There are two schools of thought. There are some people who because of the theory that says the ability to distinguish red and green is important have always maintained that you must not allow somebody with a colour vision deficiency to fly.
JOHN O'BRIEN, PILOT: Even when it comes to driving a car for example, there's colours everywhere and it's the same with aviation as well but there's not one instance in aviation where it's critical to actually be able to name colours that you see.
(MORE FOOTAGE OF PILOTS IN PLANE ON RUNWAY)
MARIA HATZAKIS: Pilots with a colour deficiency have been able to co-pilot commercial planes and fly recreationally in Australia for the past 25 years but they're banned from captaining a multi-crew commercial plane. Queensland pilot John O'Brien believes that's unfair. He's launched a legal challenge in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to force the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to remove restrictions on his licence.
JOHN O'BRIEN: At the moment because of my current colour vision restrictions, it prevents me from becoming a captain so, even though I've now flown as a first officer for over 2000 hours in, for the past four years and along with the advice and recommendations of all the colleagues that I fly with, my medical restrictions still prevent me from doing that.
MARIA HATZAKIS: But as next month's hearing approached CASA tightened regulations for new pilots making it harder for those with colour vision deficiency to fly.
(FOOTAGE OF LETTER FROM CASA)
MARIA HATZAKIS: It also wrote to existing colour blind pilots and their employers, warning them it's considering new research and may need to take action.
SIMON O'HARA, VIRGIN INDEPENDENT PILOTS ASSN.: We have been approached by members, who have received these letters, they're very disturbed by these developments, and this has come out of the blue for them so they've contacted this office in quite an agitated state.
JOHN O'BRIEN: People are I think certainly upset they're scared, about what their future is now in aviation. I know quite a few guys who are in exactly the same situation as myself they've been flying for many thousands of hours over many many years and now they got this prospect of having their careers ended, all on the opinions of a few individuals within CASA.
MARIA HATZAKIS: CASA says it will be presenting expert medical advice at the Tribunal hearing next month which supports its position and while it hasn't grounded any pilots it's trying to keep them and their employers informed. Unions are worried.
SIMON O'HARA: And they refer to medical evidence, we haven't seen that, they haven't engaged with us to talk us through or provide us with articles relating to what they rely upon in so far as that medical evidence.
(MORE FOOTAGE OF PILOTS IN COCKPIT)
SIMON O'HARA: These pilots have to undergo rigorous check and line training, they've flown thousands of hours, there's no evidence that they are any different to any other pilot and we view this very seriously.
MARIA HATZAKIS: The Australian Federation of Air pilots believes it's unreasonable and inappropriate that CASA is asking companies to consider their pilots' fitness to fly. Qantas and Virgin are considering the letters while REX Airlines says it's very concerned.
GRAPHIC:
and is "not capable" and "in no way qualified to make any assessment" of the research.
ROB LIDDELL, FORMER CASA CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: It's very unusual for a regulator to tell people to consider whether they themselves thought they might be unsafe or not and the regulator usually sets the standard and that's the end of it.
MARIA HATZAKIS: Rob Liddell was Director of aviation medicine at CASA or what was then known as the Civil Aviation Authority for about a decade from 1988. He can't see any reason for tougher rules.
ROB LIDDELL: In Australia where our colour vision standard has been incredibly relaxed since probably 1990s early 1990, we now have thousands of colour defective pilots who would have thousands and thousands of hours of flying and we're not actually seeing, any accidents or incidents related to that, so it's a bit surprising that CASA should suddenly take this line.
MARIA HATZAKIS: Liberal Senator David Fawcett is a former flying instructor and test pilot.
DAVID FAWCETT: I think the letters cause quite a deal of uncertainty for both the pilots and for their employers. They raise a doubt in people's minds about the safety of these pilots and yet the last 25 years has shown that these pilots have operated, single pilot, as part of a crew quite safely with no incidents.
MARIA HATZAKIS: He's written to Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss who's responsible for CASA urging him to conduct a study based on 25 years of accident free flying. He also believes the Commonwealth should help John O'Brien.
DAVID FAWCETT: I think it would be appropriate for the Commonwealth to fund the O'Brien case before the AAT so that both sides of the argument can bring forth their experts, the evidence can be laid out in an unbiased and complete manner before the AAT and they can then make a decision.
ROB LIDDELL: I would have thought it's a beautiful opportunity to conduct research. Keep these people employed follow them through very closely so we might be able to tell the rest of the world ultimately that there appears to be no reason why a colour defective pilot can't fly safely.
MARIA HATZAKIS: CASA maintains any further changes would be a long way off. But that hasn't settled the nerves of those who've been seeking even more freedom to fly.
JOHN O'BRIEN: When I first applied at the AAT it was really an attempt to be able to progress my career. So they're actually turning it into a fight of not just the ability to progress my career but now just the ability to even maintain my career as it stands.
MATT WORDSWORTH:
And no-one from CASA was available to comment on camera.
Not like Peter to be lost for words??