NZ Civil Aviation Authority - Shake Up Underway

[Pac Rotors]

The Govt here in NZ had decided, about bloody time, that they shake up the whole of the CAA after concerns that they have not done much to try and reduce the accident rate.

Also aviators claim that the CAA is overstepping the mark when enforcing rules, costing pilots thousands of dollars in needless medical checks and in some cases grounding them. They also believe the CAA is not focusing on the right areas to improve flight safety.

This appears to be backed up by figures showing the number of accidents per 100,000 flying hours increased last year and the CAA failed to meet safety targets in seven out of nine aircraft catergories http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/redface.gif

Each of those seven catergories relate to light aircraft, with privately owned helicopters having the worst record. As is typical CAA Director Kevin Ward had no comment. :rolleyes:

[The angry palm tree]

Pac Rotors,

Will you be running an article about this in the next magazine? :)

[Pac Rotors]

Will have to wait and see how much is disclosed. I dont want to get my sources in trouble since it wouldnt help them in their cases. If progress doesnt happen as it should or it gets swept under the table then maybe you will see some features about it.

Generally we try and promote the positive things the industry does not delve into the ****ty things, but then again you have to do what you have to do http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/confused.gif

[Avian]

Au contrare me darlin, au contrare.....

The NZ CAA has done loads to improve safety.

In the last two years it has revoked the medical of many a good (fit)pilot and and scared the wits out of many others in the process. Now Joe P. quivers in fear and would do whatever they want. He dare not have an accident!

The focus at CAA these days is not how to help people be safe in the air but how to stop them from being in it at all. That is the TRUE path to safety.....isn't it?

Easy to tie honest Joe the soft target in knots when you have NZ $20 mill a year and ten lawyers around you to 'apply the law' and make something of nothing. And do it on Joe's meagre income, of course! Make him PAY to lose his licence but tell him AFTER he's paid the fees....

Let's be absolutely clear on this, the NZ CAA wants to stop GA. It seeks better safety figures by stopping people flying altogether. Mind you, it is logical I guess, because if no one flies....

Wouldn't it be a lot wiser to LISTEN to and work WITH the people actually IN the GA business if they genuinely want to improve safety?

This would be greatly assisted by tearing down the walls that they (CAA) have built and
seeing what they could really DO to improve safety, instead of seeing who they can ground next or what law they can threaten whoever is in their sights with that day.

Watch out Kiwis, because they really ARE out to get every one of you.

Best of luck!

[Pac Rotors]

Let thee come forth and I will slay thee.

I have a few friends that have been grounded by the short sightedness of those in Wellington, or Lower Hutt to be specific. You are right they are more interested in chasing overseas contracts and trying to "help" other countries GA industry than sorting out their own backyard. Even despite them the helo industry is gaining momentum.

[Larry]

Pac
Interesting you say that.

I trade with a friend who works for the NZ CAA and he does seem to be out of the country on "projects" more often than not.

The NZ CAA must be pretty liberal considering its allows so many different helicopters to enter the country..
many that are considered "restricted" in the USA ie. Ex-US Military HH-3 ,UH-1Fs. Canada won`t allow Ex-US MIlitary helos into its country for whatever reason , but EX-Canadian Helicopter come to the USA.

[Pac Rotors]

There was a recent story in the NZ Herald highlighting the fact that there was an inquiry into the fact that certain big wigs in the CAA were going to get substantial "bonuses" so to speak, if they won the UK Air Traffic Control contract. They cant sort out their own mess and instead want to help screw up another country. Bet you a lot of the Brits are wishing NZ was a republic :)

With regards to these **** heaps being imported, heck what can you do, if the CAA says they are safe then they must be safe. Look at the Mil Mi-8 down on the West Coast, blade came off and ended up upside down on the ground, three dead, Garry Mahoney lucky to walk away from the H3, the Wessex pilot not so lucky, need I go on. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

Again we need to take a close look at these ex military machines. They are no doubt going to take a few more pilots to the grave before the regulatory bodies decide to do something.

PR

[Larry]

In the US i think the attitude is
(and i very much agee with)
the FAA puts you under "restricted" and you take your chances. No paying passengers and keep the "restricted" helicopters away from the public. Last year Siller Bros parked their CH-54A at Van Nuys and the FAA came in and grounded it and told Siller to take it apart and ship it out. The FAA came to their senses and allowed the helicopter to fly to the desert under permit. Frankly i think Erickson complained because their helicopters are certifed to do lift work around the city and they didnt want Siller
Bros. to have access to these jobs with a "restricted" CH-54A( they do have 2 S-64Es and could use one of them). Interestingly Heavylift helicopters were allowed to base a CH-54A at Van Nuys under a USFS Firefighting contract at the same time.
I think the NZs attitude should be the same....make the operators responsible for their actions and make em buy lots of insurance.Sure better than having a bunch of Government brains harrassing you.

Freedom is a good thing...no need to give it away.

[Avian]

Larry,
Do you really beleive that allowing aircraft that cannot be flown in other countries to be flown in NZ is a virtue of NZ CAA?

I think it is downright stupid and shows how little they know of REAL aviation. Those aircraft are not licensed to fly in their country of origin for good reasons.

If the NZ CAA really are a safety regulation group then why not stop the waste of lives (like the poor sod last week in that Wessex) and prevent these cast offs from being imported? He'd still be alive now if they had done something about it. Would it have flown in UK? I think not. Did any of the third world buy them? NO. They have more sense.

Again, too much attention paid to toys
e.g. "Flight Fit" (another euro cast off) and not enough to the REAL issues.

CAA-

STOP allowing the import and 'approval'of the world's scrap. It is killing pilots and you are supposed to be a 'Safety group'

DO something about wires NOW and lets not lose any more lives - You don't even have to pay.

THROW you silly toys in the bin and DO YOUR
JOB. Address the REAL issues and stop farting around with your graphs and bull****.

I think you are right to defend the right to fly Larry, but not the chance to die.

[Pac Rotors]

My thoughts are that any regulatory body covering aviation and its sub divisions should have a background in it. Ie: the person in charge of helo ops should have been a commercial pilot operating a helicopter etc, those running the airline side should have flown for a major airline etc. This way they at least know what the heck they are supposed to be looking at.

And to top it off the Director should be some sort of well rounded aviation person, not a complete idiot when it comes to aviation. The NZ CAA have at least started to recognise the problems they have within and appointed people with some experience but still have a long way to go. Time will tell. Maybe they should take the money they are throwing at these overseas contracts and invest it in the safety education process here at home, but hey thats too logical and doesnt involve a whole lot of business class trips overseas at user pays expense does it http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

PR

[Larry]

"My thoughts are that any regulatory body covering aviation and its sub divisions should have a background in it. Ie: the person in charge of helo ops should have been a commercial pilot operating a helicopter etc, those running the airline side should have flown for a major airline etc. This way they at least know what the heck they are supposed to be looking at."

That makes complete sense , probably to much sense for a Government agency !!

[Avian]

There ARE some good people in the NZ CAA, some with good, recent and relavent experience in aviation, but not many!

There are at least 70% that are there just for the ride and do not have the above. I'd hate to be one of the 30%, it must be a nightmare to work there.

As for the UK contract I doubt that they'll get it, and seriously doubt that they'll keep it if they do get it. It would be like promoting a child to National railway controller on the basis of having a model railway.

[Pac Rotors]

Hey come on our NZ Minature Railway is actually quite advanced. We even have diesel powered trains, no electric ones but they do go.

The Helo inspectors out there, such as John Fogden are a godsend at the moment. I know John when he was Chief Pilot for NAC in South Africa and has been in the industry a long time. Now with someone like him as a Director the CAA would become the jewel in the crown of civil aviation in NZ. But then again thats too much like logic.

[Avian]

OK Larry,

Don't throw all of you toys out of your pram 'cos you might not get them all back!

Seriously though, I think we are are on a different wavelength with some of the points you have raised. I could go though them one by one but it is time consuming and I have other stuff to do.

Regarding the Wessex then just read the thread about it, the one you have replied to and tell me it should have been certified if there is any doubt on the blades (without prejudice).

WHAT SHOULD THEY ,WHAT COULD THEY HAVE DONE ?

They should have ensured it was in a fit condition to fly before certifying it. Easy.

URAGUAY (SPELL) FLIES WESSEX 60s BOUGHT FROM THE USA AND THEIR ARMY FLIES EX-BRITISH WESSEXES...YOU SHOULD DO A STORY ON THOSE.
THE 60s ARE VERY INTERSTING

Well they didn't and wouldn't buy that one eh? Do you know the history of that aircraft?
I do.

LEAVE ME ALONE, I TO CARE ABOUT MY LIFE!!
Of course you care about your life, and the lives of other pilots, like we all do. That is what this was about....?!

WE HAVE THE SAME SCRAP FLYING HERE.

No, with respect, you DON'T. Your photo shows that quite well. You have properly maintained aircraft that have all the support that a vast country with practically unlimited resources can give, and the FAA to make sure that they are in a fit condition before they fly, as shown in your posts. You also do not have aircraft that no other country would buy because they are simply not fit to do the job.

THATS A PROBLEM WORLD WIDE AND GET USED TO IT..THE ECONOMOCS WON`T ALLOW WIRES TO BE RELOCATED...THATS A FACT.

Way off beam and I forgive you that because you do not know the facts. No one was talking about moving anything. The NZ line companies have agreed to cover the cost of fitting markers to wires if the CAA will identify the ones that are a risk. What did the CAA say? "It'll take years just to identify them all"

What rubbish! Pilots could and would have that job all done and dusted in a very short time. Are they asked to help? No.

I don't like BB on my shoulder either but that does not mean that the CAA have no useful rules and part of that usefulnees is to prevent unsafe aircraft from being imported, certified and flown. But they focus on the WRONG stuff, they go for the soft and easy targets.

And let me say that I am glad to see your input on this thread. There have only been 3 contributors up to know and we all know why that is. All of the pilots in NZ (who this issue REALLY matters to) are to SCARED to come on and say what they think because next time their "Medical" comes round they will apparently have developed some disability or condition that will ground them........
Amazing the amount of "coincidence" that happens eh?

I can't blame them for being afraid, even more so in the light of the latest news.
Now the CAA have discredited their own appointed Doctors in a thinly veiled attempt to disguise the real agenda - To take all medical examinations "in house" at Wellington.

Big Brother lives there, and he's funded to the gills. It pays for bunches of lawyers to make him "righteous".

Will the last Aviator to leave NZ please turn out the lights?

[Avian]

And the pantomine continues.....

NZ CAA 'Headquarters' is now besieged by complaints from Pilots who have had their Medical certificates wrongly revoked or suspended. There are no staff present able deal with the problems that have been created.

The Principle Medical Officer has resigned
under a cloud.

The Director himself already plans to leave at the end of the year (if not pushed earlier) and has already secured himself a cushy little number as a govt. secretary.

Rats and sinking ships.....But Rats would not normally cause the ship's demise.

Another so-called manager faces fresh allegations of lying on several occasions.

A motion to remove class one medical certification from anyone over 65, (whether fit or not) was defeated in Parliament last week and the Judicial review on CAA's action against Pilots will come to court soon.

A report undertaken by the Chairman of the CAA board will also be published very soon, the result of which is antcipated to be damning of CAA's recent poor performance and ineptitude.

The only people that are working hard right now at Aviation house are the crowd of Lawyers hired to justify the CAA's indefinsible regime, but boy are they struggling to sweeten all that has been done.

The NZ CAA is in crisis and deserves every
atom of it.And this is the best they could manage with $20 mill a year of NZ'ers money?

Get all of the duffers OUT, right now, no golden handshakes either, pay that money to the families that have suffered through their wrongful action against honest working pilots. Then get people into those jobs that have experience in aviation and an IQ of more than 100. It'll be a start.

[Avian]

"Dunnunda and Godzone" section has an interesting thread on this subject for those interested.

It is called "At last PMO for CAA goes"
and I would second and thrid that sentiment..

[The Nr Fairy]

On a slightly different note, I see that the New Zealand equivalent of the AAIB actually CHARGES for accident reports.

Is anyone aware of any other country / organisation with this policy ?

[Lama Driver]

CAA keeps taking the soft options. If you have a nicely written up 135 manual, ergo "It must mean that you are doing everything OK". The medical issue is a "non issue" as far as aviation accidents in NZ are concerned. Until the NZCAA gets serious about the "real" safety issues in NZ the appalling accident rate there will continue. I don't think they have the balls.

Ex NZ heli pilot now flying abroad.

[Pac Rotors]

Smartest thing you have done Gary :)

I see James Innes and the boys have been hunting Big Horn sheep near Spokane, WA. Was there a couple of weeks ago.

PR

[Avian]

Lama -

Don't have the balls eh?

Don't have the brains either!

At least Callaghan (Air Force failure) has gone, and soon so will the beast with nine fingers...

And then maybe another Air Force reject...

One can hope, can't one?

[kavu]

Pac Rotors and others

Although I am no rotor head our goal is shared. What the HECK is CAA doing with regard to its medical branch. Or for that matter about the bill it's trying to pass. Submissions have started being heard and I hope for the life of me that drastic changes take place. (If and when it comes into law.)

Yes the rats are leaving the sinking ship, and it's about time.

Well lets look at the bill being presented. Who stands to gain from all of this is the question have to ask?

------------------
Clear Air Visibility Unlimited

[Avian]

Glad you made it over Kavu. There are few enough of us but it's growing.....

New snippet -

At least two of my colleagues have been approached and had it made "clear" to them that they "owe". They are NOT to pursue any stories on NZ CAA's current problems....Not if they want to retain their privleges.

Democracy eh? It never existed.

As for who stands to gain, well the CAA will be a little closer to its 'goal' of making GA safer by grounding as many piots as possible, the ultimate extension of which is simply this;

No-one files = No accidents = 100% safety and aren't the CAA wonderful?

Also don't be under any illusions here, the truth behind what happens now, and more so if they get their bills passed, is this -

You will not know who is deciding your fate if Medical decisions are taken down in Wellie, you will see your friendly old DME or AME but there will be a whole crowd in the background, combing for any excuse to ground you. And who will have the final say?

NOT a Doctor, but their hordes of Lawyers.

Pathetic and cynical if you ask me. If they did their job properly then it could be safer WITH people being "allowed" to fly but they go down the wrong and easy route every time.

Lets get this straight, because we all get a little brainwashed and conditioned by the "system". Freedom to fly (within reason)
is something you have already, part of your basic human rights. It is not for some trumped up and overfunded "safety group" to grant it to you, to "allow" you to fly.
You have it already...and they want to take it away.

The time to make a noise, bring this abuse of the law itself to the fore is RIGHT NOW, before those rights are lost forever.

[Pac Rotors]

I got an email from a pilot the other day who has had his medical pulled and the most comical thing about the screwup is that now there is nobody there to answer questions re the subject because they all quit.

Now does that mean that all the cases are null and void because all the people prosecuting them are gone or does the new Medical Officer have to start from scratch again. Talk about major ballsup. Mind you we are talking about the NZ CAA here arent we.

Will be interesting to see what they do now.

[Avian]

If interested see the thread "CAA report"
or similar on "Dununda and Godzone".

Kavu has gone to a lot of trouble to provide it.