From the Director of Civil Aviation, Keith Manch
2023 has flown by and I’m pleased to share some of the highlights of the past few months since our last briefing.
One of the big areas of focus has been sector engagement with a domestic and international perspective.
I have had the privilege of attending the Aerospace Summit in Christchurch, and the Airports Hui in Christchurch, as well as the Royal Aeronautical Society’s New Zealand Division Symposium in Wellington. For me these are very important opportunities to engage with people and issues that are critical to the aviation system now and in future.
There are consistent themes about the challenges and the opportunities facing aviation in both its traditional and emerging forms, against the reality that aviation in all its forms critical for New Zealand from an economic and social perspective. There has been open discussion about the pressure of costs on aviation, challenges in maintaining and developing a workforce to support aviation and space activity, the challenges of bringing young people into aviation, the supply of new pilots, engineers, and everyone else required to make aviation work. The deep passion that people have for aviation was evident.
There was also a strong theme that New Zealand needs a more cohesive vision and plan relating to aviation, along with strong collaboration between government and industry to make it happen. There is some hope that the development of the Aviation Council (one of the recommendations from the recent Air Navigation System Review) will be a focal point for this.
The CAA’s intention is to maintain and further develop its engagement and collaboration activity in this vein. Three examples are the work being done covered in this update relating to our Emerging Technologies Unit; our regular forums with Rule Part 149 organisations; and the newly commissioned Aviation Security Stewardship Group. All have a high degree of industry engagement and collaboration as a means of success.
I’m also pleased to be part of the Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa Government and Industry Leadership Group which will work with the industry to shape the direction of sustainable aviation. There’s a particular focus on sustainable aviation fuel, zero-emissions aircraft, and the strategic picture relating to this.
At the international level, the CAA has been strengthening its connections with the Pacific Aviation Safety Office and our Pacific Island neighbours’ Civil Aviation administrations with a focus on operational safety and security, and the strength of our collective regional voice in the context of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. I also attended the 58th Asia Pacific Director Generals of Civil Aviation (DGCA) meeting in Bangladesh. This provided the opportunity to engage with a range of countries and organisations that are important to New Zealand’s aviation system and development.
At an organisational level, earlier in the year I commissioned Mike Heron KC to review CAA’s approach to investigations.
The report from the review outlines a range of recommendations and ways to improve areas of investigative practice, particularly around complex investigations. The focus is on improving the Authority’s investigative function in order to reflect a consistent, fair and transparent approach across the industry. Its purpose is not to increase the number of enforcement actions, but to ensure that our investigation activity gathers the facts in a way that always enables the CAA to make informed decisions about any regulatory and safety action that is appropriate during and following an investigation. Our role requires CAA to consider the Civil Aviation Act, Health and Safety at Work, and Hazardous Substances regulation alongside identifying any appropriate safety and security improvements that might emerge during an investigation.
There are changes to the Civil Aviation Act, which takes effect in 2025, relating to restrictions on the admissibility of accident and information notifications; limitations on the Director’s powers to take law enforcement action and protection; and controls on the admissibility of flight data recording (see sections 339 to 344). These changes, alongside the investigation review, highlight the importance of CAA engaging with industry to refresh our collective understanding of the application of just culture principles by industry, and by the CAA as the regulator. This work will occur during 2024.
In addition to following through on the investigation review, there are two major areas of focus over the next year or so, in addition to the core activity of supporting aviation safety and security. They are the preparation for the implementation of the Civil Aviation Act 2023 which comes into force in April 2025; and undertaking a well overdue funding review to ensure that the CAA is adequately funded to meet the expectations of the public in having a safe and secure aviation system.
Finally, I recently came across the book 'From The Pilot’s Seat. Kiwi Adventures in the Sky.'
As indicated in the author's Note, the book contains a collection of '23 aviation adventures from 23 flying Kiwis in the pilot's seat'.
Flicking through the contents page I saw that one of those pilots is Carlton Campbell, one of our South Island Aviation Safety Advisors, which convinced me to buy it.
It's very interesting to read the stories of some prominent industry characters (including Carlton!) and their rich histories in aviation, from what triggered their first engagement through to where they are now. It certainly reinforces the significance of aviation in New Zealand, and the passion that people engaged in it bring.
Keith Manch
Director of Civil Aviation
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