And CASA Is Devising New Regulations To Accommodate The Jumbo Jet

From CASA...

Australia is playing a key role in the development of the world’s largest and most sophisticated airliner – the Airbus A380.

Qantas is one of the first customers for the giant aircraft, which is due to begin commercial service in early 2006. A key A380 wing component is being manufactured by Hawker de Havilland in Sydney and Melbourne. And the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is working on a range of complex regulatory issues to ensure the aircraft meets the highest possible safety standards.

Details of Australia’s role in the development of the A380 are revealed in a story in the latest edition of CASA’s flagship publication, Flight Safety Australia magazine. The story says the advanced technologies used to build and operate the A380 are posing fundamental challenges to safety regulators across the globe. It says regulatory authorities and airlines will be dealing with the most complex civil aircraft, regarded by some people to be outstripping current safety rules.

The main areas of interest for regulators are the A380s avionics and software, emergency evacuation provisions and the use of composite material such as glass fibre reinforced aluminium. To meet the challenges posed by the A380, CASA has formed a special team of experts who will learn all about the aircraft from the ground up, including flying operations, maintenance and aerodrome requirements.

CASA is committed to having solutions to the issues raised by the A380 well before the first aircraft is delivered to Qantas in the second half of 2006. The magazine article says CASA specialists are also playing an important role in developing a maintenance program for the world-wide A380 fleet in a cooperative effort with Airbus and airlines.

FMI: www.casa.gov.au/avreg/fsa