[Peetwo]

Dots-n-dashes on ICAO GRSAP, the SSP and the CASA O&O of the NRSG?? -    

In 2017 the 1st edition of the ICAO GRSAP (Global Runway Safety Action Plan) was published - see HERE.

Background

Since the first ICAO Global Runway Safety Symposium held in Montréal, Canada, in May 2011, ICAO and the Runway Safety Programme (RSP) Partners have been working together to minimize and mitigate the risks of runway incursions, runway excursions and other events linked to Runway Safety.

The ICAO runway safety programme involves substantial collaboration with partner organizations including: Airports Council International (ACI); the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO); the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL); the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF); the International Air Transport Association (IATA); the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA); the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC); the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA); the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA); and the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA).

In January 2017 the RSP Partners established a Runway Safety Action Plan Working Group (RSAP-WG) with the aim of reviewing the RSP achievements, objectives and priorities, and to develop a global runway safety action plan to be unveiled at the Second Global Runway Safety Symposium in Lima, Peru, 20-22 November 2017.

The objectives of the RSAP-WG included:
 Review runway related accident and serious incident data;
 Conduct a safety risk assessment of runway safety accident occurrence categories;
 Identify the runway safety risk priorities and high risk accident categories;
 Identify appropriate global mitigation actions; and
 Develop a Global Runway Safety Action Plan.

Through a review and analysis of runway safety occurrence data and risk analysis, the RSAPWG identified runway excursions and runway incursions as the main high risk occurrence categories. This Global Runway Safety Action Plan provides recommended actions for all runway safety stakeholders, with the aim of reducing the global rate of runway excursions and runway incursions.

The GRSAP recommended actions and initiatives was adopted in principle by the Australian Aviation Safety bureaucracy and subsequently embedded and became a theoretical function of our latest version of our tick-a-box Annex 19 SSP (refer pg 37 NRSG).

The NRSG is oversighted and administered by CASA: Ref - https://www.casa.gov.au/about-us/who-we-...#1.Purpose

1. Purpose

The National Runway Safety Group (NRSG) is a State Safety Programme (SSP) hazard-specific working group and has been established to facilitate State-level visibility and continuous improvement in safety performance, specific to runway safety in Australia.

The current membership of the GRSAP (apparently) includes:

• CASA (chair and coordination staff)
  
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development
  
• Airservices
  
• Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)
  
• Defence
  
• Australian Airports Association (AAA)
  
• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
  
• Australian Airline Pilots Association (AusALPA)
  
• Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA)
  
• Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus)
  
• Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
  
• Airport operators (incl. capital-city, Metro-D and regional airports)
  
• Airlines
  
• Major flying schools/training organisations
  

 
The GRSAP is supposed to meet biannually but unfortunately, as seems to be standard form for CASA, there is a total lack of transparency on the outcome/minutes and/or findings from these meetings...

The only inkling that the meetings have been actually occurring, is from some of the AusALPA S&T newsletters - see HERE. 

E.G:

National Runway Safety Group (NRSG) Meeting

Members of the NRSG including representatives from the operators (Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and RFDS), the major airports (Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth) and organisations (Airservices, CASA, ATSB and AusALPA) convened in October for its second meeting. The NRSG is a State Safety Programme (SSP) hazard-specific working group and has been established to facilitate state-level visibility and continuous improvement in safety performance, specific to runway safety in Australia.

Four sub-groups have been created/ absorbed by the NRSG namely: Preventable Go-Arounds; Metro D Airports; ATS/Airline Forum; and Communications.

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National Runway Safety Group (NRSG) Meeting

AusALPA attended the NRSG meeting along with representatives from the operators (Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and RFDS), the major airports (Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth) and organisations (Airservices, CASA, and ATSB). The NRSG forms part of the State Safety Programme, along with the Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group, the ASTRA Council, and the various BoM industry groups; groups of which AusALPA is a key member.

(Note that AusALPA is also actively involved in most of the Federally owned major airport LRSTs, with the notable exception of Essendon.) 

Finally on an associated note with the current alarming airports and ATC safety risk issues, I note the following from the AFAP submission to the White Paper TOR that suggests that these issues will not be covered up forever:

TOR 4: AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESSES AND CONSULTATION MECHANISMS THAT CONSIDER THE IMPACT AND CHANGING NATURE OF AIRCRAFT NOISE AND RELATED EXPECTATIONS ON THE ROLE OF NOISE SHARING AND CURFEW ARRANGEMENTS

Airport Development Planning is Broader than Noise and Curfew Issues

30. This  TOR  relates  airport  issues directly to  community  concerns  with  aircraft  noise.  The  AFAP believes this isn’t the most critical of concerns related to airport development planning processes and consultation mechanisms.

31. Expanding the TOR to include aircraft operational safety is necessary.

32. The  Australian  Government’s  failure  to  reform  airport  planning   processes   has   caused   a degradation  of  airports  as  key  national  infrastructure,  contrary  to  the  intended  outcome  of providing aviation infrastructure that serves the Australian community.  Issues that need reform include a lack of coordination between levels of government, flawed adoption of national airport safeguarding frameworks, grandfathering of safety standards, unchecked non-aviation use of airport  land,  flawed  airspace  protection  regulations,  lack  of  transparency  in  airport  master development  plan consultation  processes,  and  inconsistency  on  applying  safety  standards  and pursuing  land  use  initiatives. The  AFAP  supports  establishing  a  public  independent  inquiry  to address these issues and achieve policy goals.

33. In recent years, the  AFAP has become concerned that AsA is inappropriately prioritising politics related to aircraft noise over that of the legislated priority of the safety of air navigation.

34. Community  backlash  after  there centre design  of arrival  routes  into Hobart  has  left AsA embarrassed. It appears that noise now disproportionately influences decision  making. In the following examples safety was clearly not the priority:

a. Support for increasing crosswind limitations for runway direction selection at Sydney airport beyond international safety standards.
b. Support for increasing the tailwind limits for runway direction selection at Brisbane airport beyond international safety standards,

35.Implementing more effective policy directions and accountability upon AsA as required by the Act needs to be included in the TORs.

MTF...P2