Situação preocupante da Aviação Geral em Portugal

Em carta dirigida ao presidente do INAC , a Direcção da Aopa Portugal manifesta a sua crescente preocupação face ao avolumar de problemas que afectam a aviação geral no nosso País e que têm determinado uma redução considerável na actividade aeronáutica e o encerramento ou paralisação de vários aeroclubes.

Acidente trágico em Tires

Durante a noite do dia 26 de Junho ocorreu um trágico acidente com um Cessna 152 (CSAUR) da Escola de Aviação Leávia causando a morte dos seus dois tripulantes, um instrutor e um aluno. 

Expressamos as nossas sentidas condolencias aos familiares dos dois pilotos mortos no acidente, e em especial ao nosso associado Pedro Leal, pai do jovem falecido.

Luz no fundo do tunel da EASA!

Pela sua imporitância e actualidade, transcrevemos aqui a noticia que surge no ultimo boletim mensal da IAOPA, dando conta do que se pensa virá a ser uma atitude mais razoável e inteligente da EASA para com a Aviação Geral, na linha da que é adoptada pela FAA norte-americana.

Esperamos que o nosso INAC seja sensivel à mesma ordem de preocupações, e deixe de tratar a Aviação Geral como uma mini-aviação comercial, aplicando de uma forma cega e burocrática os regulamentos EASA, desprezando as especificidades da Aviação não comercial e contribuindo por essa via para fazer desaparecer no nosso País o que resta da Aviação Geral Portuguesa!

Muitos são hoje aliás os aviões portugueses que passam para o registo alemão, que vem dando prova de maior flexibilidade e conhecimento técnico no tratamento da especificidade da Aviação Geral. 

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Light at the end of the EASA tunnel

The French-led working group that aims to create a new world of light-touch regulation for European general aviation has produced a set of guiding principles for EASA which will be considered by the Agency's Board of Management next week. Although the full details are confidential, the basic tenets are that there should be no regulation without a specific safety aim, and every new regulation should be tested with a full risk analysis and a cost-benefit study before it is imposed. The group wants EASA to move completely away from the 'top-down' concept of creating regulations for Commercial Air Transport then imposing them on GA, sometimes in a slightly watered-down form. It wants EASA to adopt the ICAO stance, which specifically states that authorities do not owe the same duty of care to GA participants as they do to paying customers of the airlines and uninvolved third parties.

The group is much more than a think-tank, and includes representatives of EASA and the European Commission, who have indicated that they go along with the consensus view. It was set up at the behest of EASA's Board of Management following a presentation to the Board by IAOPA Senior Vice President Martin Robinson, who sits of the group together with AOPA Germany's Managing Director Dr Michael Erb.

The general view is that Annex 6, part 1, of ICAO's Chicago Convention covers general aviation regulation sufficiently well, and if EASA wishes to go beyond it, then it has to be addressing a demonstrated safety problem and its response should be proportionate to the risk and the cost. European states are signatories to the Convention whereas Europe as an entity is not, and the EC does not consider EASA to be bound by its provisions. The states, however, have relied on ICAO for guidance since the Second World War, and it has not been found wanting.

There is a real chance that this revolutionary approach will be officially adopted, and GA could enjoy a more prosperous future freed of the burden of excess bureaucracy and unnecessary cost inherent in over-regulation. A new Transport Commissioner takes over at the EC in 2014, and the 'new broom' could provide the perfect opportunity for a fundamental change of philosophy. The working group has made specific suggestions on guaranteed grandfather rights, and clarity in rulemaking. EASA's regulations are written by lawyers – the Agency carries no liability insurance – and it's sometimes necessary for a pilot to read hundreds of pages of legalese, correctly cross-referencing other documents and interpreting inconsistencies, before he knows what he's allowed to do. Ambiguity, opacity and inconsistency are dangerous to aviation.

Martin Robinson says: "We must congratulate the French CAA, the DGAC, for their support and their work on this issue. The DGAC has a requirement in France to ensure there is always a market place for aviation, and they are rightly proud of their aviation history.

"The wind of change is blowing through Cologne, and the changes are fundamental and positive. As far as GA is concerned, the first instinct of EASA should be to do nothing. The risks of GA to uninvolved third parties are so minuscule as to be largely irrelevant. These facts should guide EASA's thinking."

The question now is how the new philosophy can be applied to EASA regulations that have already been imposed. EASA's Aviation Training Organisation rules are a case in point. A flight training organisation which is not owned by its members is deemed to be a commercial operation, subject to all of EASA's requirements for CAT. Trial lessons are deemed to be commercial operations, which means flying clubs will have to dedicate an aircraft, with an AOC, a detailed ops manual, and a commercial pilot to fly it, if they want to do trial lessons. The horse has bolted on this one, and according to EASA it cannot be changed without changing the wording of the Basic Regulation, the EC bible which governs what EASA does. Obviously it will be easy to get around this particular problem – just call it a 'first lesson' instead of a trial lesson – but other EASA regulations will not be so simple to finesse, and GA will have to rely on a certain amount of goodwill from national authorities in their interpretations.

While the working group was originally only scheduled to meet twice, provision has been made for it to meet again in the light of the response of the Board of Management next week. More details in the next IAOPA-Europe enews.

Notams de aeródromos nacionais e os Notams de rota disponíveis para sócios

A partir de hoje, 12 de Junho,  passam a ser afixados diariamente no site da Aopa Portugal (na secção Notams, em subsecções próprias acessiveis aos associados) os Notams de aeródromos nacionais e os Notams de rota.
 
Para o efeito, os associados deverão aceder ao site usando o seu nome de registo, ou registar-se no próprio site.

EASA certifica novo tipo de aeronave no tipo LSA (light sport aircraft)

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified the first types in a newly created certification category for light aircraft. Following the PS-28 Cruiser from Czech Sport Aircraft and the Flight Design CTLS-ELA, the Evektor SportStar RTC is the third aircraft type to be certified under new specifications designed specifically for Light Sports Aircraft (LSA). Aeroplanes in this category have up to two seats and a mass of less than 600kg.

EASA has been actively working to address feedback from industry and operators stating that the regulatory framework applying to recreational aircraft is too burdensome. The publication in June 2011 of new Certification Specifications for LSA (CS-LSA), based on international standards, was the first result of this work. It has now allowed LSA to be certified and operated in Europe.

Commenting on this development, EASA Executive Director, Patrick Goudou, said “I am very pleased to see industry make use of these new Certification Specifications for LSA, which will benefit manufacturers, operators, and pilots. Going forward, LSA and other light aircraft are likely to become an economic and environmentally friendly replacement for part of the ageing General Aviation fleet.”

EASA continues to work closely with the aviation community, and further improvements to certification procedures for European Light Aircraft (ELA) are expected in the near future. The Agency’s Rulemaking proposal (Opinion 01/2011), which provides a more proportionate certification process for light aircraft and introduces a concept for standard changes and repairs, is expected to be adopted by the European Commission in the second part of 2012.

Relatório do GPIAA

O GPIAA publicou o seu primeiro Relatório Anual de Segurança Operacional relativo a 2011, que foi elaborado nos termos do nº 5 do artº 4º do Regulamento (UE) nº 996/2010 do Parlamento Europeu e do Conselho de 20 de Outubro relativo à investigação e prevenção de acidentes e incidentes na aviação civil.

Este relatório pode ser consultado em http://www.gpiaa.gov.pt/tempfiles/20120528104438moptc.pdf.