Private Australian Pilots Want Maintenance Relaxed

They claim pilot error, not engine failure, is the main cause of accidents, writes Steve Creedy

PRIVATE pilots are lobbying the aviation regulator to relax the maintenance requirements for the nation's fleet of ageing light aircraft.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is worried that the proliferation of fees and the introduction of the GST has harmed the industry's ability to buy parts.

It is looking for ways to reduce unnecessary regulatory and maintenance requirements. ''The average light aircraft is a VW with wings, and with training the pilot should be able to self-maintain wherever possible,'' AOPA vice-president Andrew Kerans said yesterday.

''We have a fear that the levels of taxation, combined with an increase in just about every fee you can imagine and fuel over the last five years, means people are struggling for the money to continue to do the maintenance and buy the parts that they need to keep the ageing aircraft new.''

The comments come in the wake of an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report that showed the average age of Australia's piston engine small aircraft fleet had risen by up to 10 years in the decade from 1995. Air safety investigators found that the average age of smaller piston engine aircraft in Australia now topped 30 years and warned this could mean some planes were no longer supported by the companies that made them.

The ageing of the Australian fleet has raised questions about safety and maintenance, but AOPA denies older aircraft are compromising safety. They say old aircraft are just as good as new aircraft, as long as they are maintained.

They say air-frame and engine failures make up a small part of aircraft crash statistics, with most accidents are due to pilot error rather than equipment failure.

They also point to US statistics that show modern, complex aircraft dominate fatal incident records.

Mr Kerans likened old aircraft to a 100-year-old axe. ''It's probably had 10 handles and 10 heads, but you still think it's the same axe,'' he said. ''And that's the way it is with aircraft, basically.''

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority committee was looking at the maintenance issues, including AOPA claims that some regulatory requirements were too restrictive.

Mr Kerans said it was ridiculous to require an engineering order to put protective tape on the leading edge of an aircraft. ''Even if 100 aircraft in Australia are already fitted with it, you need to go and pay an engineer to write another price of paper so you can fit that. That's ridiculous, that will cost you $400 just for that piece of paper. We believe that that's the sort of unnecessary regulation that's harming the industry,'' he said.

AOPA is also calling on the Government to look at the tax burden on new aircraft, parts and maintenance as a way of reducing the average age of the fleet.

The ATSB survey identified smaller multi-engine aircraft used in charter and public transport operations as the nation's oldest. The average age in this category during 2005 was 31 years, an increase of 10 years from 1995, indicating operators were buying very few new aircraft.

Mr Kerans said more realistic tax breaks would allow owners and operators to afford to introduce newer and more efficient aircraft to provide improved services to regional Australia.

''At over $400,000 plus GST, even basic, new, US-built, four-seat aircraft are just unaffordable for many operators who spend a great deal of money maintaining older aircraft so that their businesses can survive and employ the many Australians supported by the industry,'' he said.

Aircraft sellers say the level of allowable annual depreciation in Australia is too low and should be raised to match countries such as the US.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.