December 12, 2011
For ten years under the POC program, Canadian business aviation thrived despite the fact that Canada’s safety standards were more demanding, by far, than those imposed by any other nation. The regime worked because those standards, and the associated inspections and audits, made sense and the related service levels met operators’ needs.
That system changed last April and if the CBAA is not successful in rolling back the clock, there is a real threat that business aviation, as we know it, will disappear under an avalanche of bureaucratic red tape, ridiculously demanding standards, audits and inspections and paralyzing low service levels. Any business aviation operator who has added or changed an aircraft or requested any other amendment to its TPOC has had a taste of the difficulties of the current hybrid BA-OSS plus Interim Order (IO) standards.
Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Transport briefed the CBAA on what is coming. The new Subpart 604 regulations will look very much like Subpart 704 (commercial/commuter) requirements, with an addition layer of SMS.
This will negatively affect business aviation in three ways: 1) manuals will have to be revised to include all the new requirements; 2) the revised manuals will need to be approved at least once; and 3) business aviation will be subject to intensive, performance-based inspections and audits. Revising the manual will be both mandatory and time consuming. Operators will either be required to redo manuals now as a result of requesting an amendment to their TPOC, or will have to do so once the new regulations come into force because we have learned that once the new Subpart 604 is in place, operators will need to recertify to receive a “permanent” Transport Canada POC, but only once operators have shown they meet the new requirements.
This is or will be a big job. To take just one example: the IO passenger safety briefing requirement includes about 45 items. The BA-OSS requires 11. In this instance, the revised operations manual would require 30+ new items and amended checklists which then will be reprinted, but only after receiving approval from TC. Simply securing approval for the revised manuals can be a nightmare itself. Based on member and commercial operators’ experiences, we know that inspectors have a great deal of individual latitude in dictating how the manual should be written – right down to punctuation -- leading to the spectre of an endless process of rewrites, resubmissions and delays in certification, especially if the inspector changes in mid-process. A rewrite is costly and high risk. Some operators hired a consultant to do the work and, even then, approvals took months.
As if the requirements to meet what is in the IO (and soon expanded in the new Subpart 604) are not enough, operators have to contend with SMS-related requirements. One recent example of many involves TC asking for type training for the maintenance provider for a Part 23 aircraft. None is required by regulation, but TC took the position that the operator’s SMS processes would have identified this requirement. Thanks in part to CBAA intervention, this back door attempt at adding regulations did not occur.
The process does not end there. The next hurdle is passing the periodic Program Validation Inspection (PVI). The PVI goes well beyond the BA-OSS SMS/compliance audit. The PVI and follow-up requirements are so onerous; that, in my experience, unless an operator also holds a commercial operating certificate they will not pass a PVI on the first pass today. To see the requirements on the TC website, follow these links: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/opssvs/managementservices-referencecentre-documents-sur-sur-001-p-1192.htm, and http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/opssvs/managementservices-referencecentre-documents-sur-sur-001-m-1026.htm.
Today, TC will also conduct a PVI if they find any compliance or enforcement issues. CBAA has documented what this would mean for operators should there be issues on our website at (http://www.cbaa-acaa.ca/en/op-info/poc-transition/item/146-enforcement-bulletin).
What is the CBAA response? First, we are creating a submission to government to try to pre-empt the publication of these onerous standards and requirements by demonstrating why IS-BAO-based standards and audits meet the government’s safety requirements. This approach would re-establish a system based on purposefully less prescriptive and detailed standards, with an SMS to address unique, high-risk operations. Second, should government not respond, and Subpart 604 be published in its expected (and severe) form, we will then respond formally to the Gazette Part 1 pre-publication of the regulations. Third, if this direct approach to Transport fails to result in the changes necessary for the survival of business aviation, we will escalate the issues as far as necessary – including to the government’s central agencies --to get them addressed.
As a final note, I strongly recommend that operators do not react prematurely to the IO either by requesting that TC revoke a TPOC because of changes of applicability (i.e. turbo-props under 5700 kgs are not included), or because operations no longer need ops specs. First, there is no guarantee that turbo-props won’t be included in the final rule. Second, renewing IFRs or getting new Type Ratings become increasingly demanding of time and money outside of the TPOC structure especially without CBAA membership and access to our renewal service.
I encourage you to share this letter with members. Should you have any comments or questions on these issues, please do not hesitate to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at 613 656 0505 (office) or 613 883 7738 (cell).
Yours truly,
M.R. Preuss PEng FRAeS
VP Government & Regulatory Affairs
Canadian Business Aviation Association
