The Australian legislation requires that in almost all cases, a commercial operator must appoint a Chief Pilot (however called).  The person appointed as a Chief Pilot must be approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

In other jurisdictions, other “accountable Managers” and or “Post Holders” are appointed and must be similarly approved by the aviation regulator.

The responsibilities of the Chief Pilot are prescribed in Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 82.0 Appendix 1 section 2.  Click here to read the CAO.  These responsibilities are of an operational nature and not necessarily related to business or Corporations Law responsibilities which are generally the responsibility of the Board of Directors, the owners or the CEO. 

When dealing with operational matters, CASA generally corresponds to the Chief Pilot.  This is a convenient and historical single point of contact.  Depending on the nature of the operational issue, it may also be well served by involving other management in discussions and or decisions. 

In my recent experience, I have noticed a CASA trend to try and exclude other important company decision makers from operational regulatory compliance discussions; particularly in smaller aviation businesses.  The Australian legislation does not prescribe that CASA will deal with the company only through the Chief Pilot, although this view is held by some in the Authority.

This view is naive in that it does not recognize the governance requirements and management responsibilities within small and medium businesses.  Even in large businesses, the Board of Directors have statutory responsibilities to set corporate policies, monitor operations against performance measures, establish systems to ensure the business is compliant, manage risk, and apply appropriate resources.  As such, regulatory issues of major significance should get the attention of the “owners” and Senior Management. 

I have often used the analogy that it is entirely reasonable for the owner of a fish and chip shop to understand and ensure that the fish is fresh and cooked appropriately.  Similarly, in the aviation context, owners should be aware of safety and regulatory compliance issues affecting the business.  Section 28BE of the Australian Civil Aviation Act reinforces the notion that the owners of the business are ultimately responsible.  Click here to view the Act.

CASA must take a more sophisticated approach to its dealings with operators about compliance issues.  The Chief Pilot may be their first contact but to resolve some issues holistically and completely, the owners need to be involved as well.  Sometimes they are the people who can ultimately fix the problem by applying additional resources for example.  There is no statutory reason for CASA to exclude owners from attending any significant meetings with the Chief Pilot.