PNG CASA AME Subject 20 Air Law cheat sheet

The Civil Aviation Act 2000 establishes the Papua New Guinea Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA PNG) as the safety regulator and gives effect to the Chicago Convention obligations of PNG.

CASA PNG is governed by a Board appointed under the Act; the Director of Civil Aviation is the statutory delegate who issues certificates, licences and approvals on behalf of the Authority.

The PNG Civil Aviation Rules (PNG CARs) are disallowable instruments made under the Act; a rule change takes effect only after the statutory public consultation and tabling process.

Part 1 of the PNG CARs contains definitions and abbreviations; where a term is defined in Part 1, that definition prevails over ordinary usage in every other Part.

Ministerial power is limited to policy direction and appointment; the Minister does not issue individual airworthiness or licensing decisions, which rest with the Director.

CASA PNG's functions include safety oversight, surveillance, accident prevention, and coordination with the Accident Investigation Commission; it does not operate air traffic services (that is the service provider's role).

Delegation under the Act must be in writing and to a named position or person; a delegate exercising a power must do so within the scope of the instrument of delegation.

The Act creates the offence framework: offences are prosecuted under PNG law, and penalties specified in the Act or the applicable rule apply unless a higher penalty is expressly provided.

PNG CARs follow a Part-numbered structure analogous to FARs: Part 43 (maintenance), Part 66 (licensing), Part 91 (general operations), Part 121/135 (air transport), Part 145 (maintenance organisations).

Advisory Circulars (ACs) state an acceptable means of compliance but are not themselves legally binding; compliance with the rule is mandatory, following an AC is one way to show it.

Airworthiness Directives issued by CASA PNG are mandatory; an AD adopted from a state of design is enforceable once notified in PNG, regardless of AC guidance.

Rule exemptions are granted in writing by the Director, are time-limited and condition-bound, and do not remove the obligation to maintain an acceptable level of safety.

When a rule and an AC conflict, the rule prevails; the AC is advisory and cannot relax a rule requirement, but a specific exemption may.

CASA PNG adopts ICAO Annex standards by reference in the rules; where the rules are silent, Annex provisions inform acceptable practice but are not directly enforceable without rule adoption.

A 'significant' rule change affecting operators requires publication and a transition period; continuing to operate to a superseded requirement after the effective date is a breach.

A PNG Aircraft Maintenance Engineer licence is issued under Part 66 with categories and ratings; the licence states the category (e.g. B1, B2, A) and the type ratings endorsed.

A licence holder may certify only within the scope of the category, the type rating held, and the specific task authorisation granted by the maintenance organisation.

Category A (mechanical) and B2 (avionics) privileges are distinct; a B2 holder cannot certify airframe/engine structural work, and a B1 cannot certify avionics systems without the appropriate rating.

Certification is a formal act: signing a maintenance release asserts that the work was performed to the required standard, using approved data, and that the aircraft is airworthy with respect to that work.

A licence is not a right to work unsupervised in all contexts; the maintenance organisation's exposition defines who may certify and under what authorisation.

To add a type rating, the applicant must complete the approved type course, demonstrate experience on type, and pass the assessment required by the applicable Part 66 appendix.

A licence holder must not certify work on an aircraft when affected by fatigue, medication, alcohol or any condition that impairs judgement; self-declaration of fitness is a licensing obligation.

Licence currency and recency requirements must be maintained; lapsed recency requires re-establishment of experience or reassessment before certification privileges resume.

An aircraft is airworthy when it conforms to its type design and is in a condition for safe operation; both elements must be satisfied, not just the absence of defects.

A Certificate of Airworthiness remains valid only while the aircraft is maintained in accordance with the approved maintenance programme and all applicable ADs are embodied.

A Special Flight Permit (ferry permit) may be issued for an aircraft that does not meet full airworthiness requirements, subject to operating limitations and a defined flight purpose.

Major modifications and major repairs require approved data and, where specified, a supplemental type certificate or design approval before installation.

Continuing airworthiness is a shared responsibility: the owner/operator ensures compliance, the maintenance organisation performs it, and the State of Registry oversees it.

The maintenance release is invalidated by subsequent defects, damage, or the expiry of any life-limited component; a new release is required before further flight.

Mass and balance, and configuration conformity (e.g. equipment list) are airworthiness matters; unapproved alterations can render the C of A invalid.

Recording of maintenance in the aircraft technical log and permanent records is a legal requirement; missing records can invalidate the airworthiness status.

Every aircraft operated under an AOC must have an approved maintenance programme; the programme is the basis for scheduled inspections and component replacement.

The programme must be based on the manufacturer's maintenance planning document or an approved reliability programme; deviations require CASA PNG approval.

An Approved Maintenance Organisation (Part 145) must have an exposition covering scope of work, personnel, facilities, tooling, and quality system, and must operate within that scope.

The maintenance control manual or MOE defines how the operator controls airworthiness: work orders, defect control, deferred defects (MEL), and records retention.

The Minimum Equipment List (MEL) allows dispatch with specified defects; it must be approved and cannot be used to defer a defect not listed.

Reliability programmes require trend monitoring and action thresholds; exceeding a threshold without corrective action is a programme non-compliance.

Records must be retained for the period specified in the rules and be traceable to the task, the person, and the approved data used.

Contracting maintenance to another organisation does not transfer the operator's responsibility for ensuring the work is done and recorded correctly.

PNG is a signatory to the Chicago Convention; the 19 Annexes set standards and recommended practices (SARPs) that PNG implements through its Civil Aviation Rules.

Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing), Annex 6 (Operation of Aircraft), Annex 8 (Airworthiness) and Annex 19 (Safety Management) are the most directly relevant to AMEs.

Annex 8 requires a State of Registry to ensure aircraft on its register meet airworthiness requirements; the State of Design and State of Manufacture also have defined obligations.

Annex 13 governs accident and incident investigation and establishes the independence of the investigation authority from the regulator; PNG's Accident Investigation Commission reflects this.

Annex 19 requires a State Safety Programme (SSP) and, for service providers, a Safety Management System (SMS) with the four components: policy, risk management, assurance, promotion.

Differences from ICAO SARPs must be notified to ICAO; a notified difference means the PNG rule, not the Annex text, is the applicable requirement.

Annex 18 and the ICAO Technical Instructions govern dangerous goods; the Technical Instructions are the operative standard referenced by the rules.

Where an Annex uses 'shall', it is a Standard; 'should' indicates a Recommended Practice, and the distinction matters when assessing compliance expectations.

PNG airspace is classified using ICAO classes; Class C requires ATC clearance for all flights and provides separation for IFR from IFR and from VFR, with VFR receiving traffic information.

Class G is uncontrolled; IFR and VFR receive no separation service, and see-and-avoid applies to all aircraft regardless of flight rules.

The standard semicircular cruising level rule applies to IFR flights: track 000-179 degrees uses odd levels, 180-359 uses even levels, subject to the table in the rules.

VFR minima in controlled airspace include visibility and distance-from-cloud criteria; in Class G at low level the minima are reduced but never zero.

A clearance is an authorisation, not an instruction to disregard safety; a pilot must advise ATC if a clearance cannot be accepted or if separation is compromised.

Position reporting and mandatory read-back of clearances (route, level, frequency) reduce communication error; failure to read back does not void the clearance.

Right-of-way rules: converging aircraft give way to the one on the right; a lower aircraft gives way to a higher one on final approach; landing aircraft have priority over others.

Emergency authority: a pilot in command may deviate from rules to the extent necessary to meet an emergency and must report the deviation on request.

The pilot in command is responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft and has final authority over its conduct, including dispatch decisions in the face of conflicting commercial pressure.

An operator's AOC defines the scope of authorised operations (aircraft types, routes, kinds of operation); operating outside that scope is a breach.

Flight and duty time limitations exist to control fatigue; an operator must have a scheme approved by CASA PNG and must record duty and rest periods.

Operational control ensures each flight is authorised, the aircraft is airworthy, the crew is qualified and the load is within limits before departure.

Pre-flight requirements include checking maintenance release validity, MEL status, fuel and mass-and-balance computation, and weather and NOTAM review.

Minimum fuel and reserve requirements must be planned, not discovered in flight; a pilot must declare a fuel emergency when reserves are compromised.

The operator is responsible for ensuring crew hold valid licences, ratings, medical certificates and recency, and for maintaining those records.

Carriage of documents (C of A, C of R, maintenance release, licence, operations manual, insurance) is a legal requirement for flight.

An SMS has four components: safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion; each has defined elements under Annex 19.

Hazard identification, risk assessment and mitigation (the 5x5 matrix) form the safety risk management process; mitigations must be recorded and monitored for effectiveness.

A just culture distinguishes acceptable human error from reckless or intentional violation; disciplinary action is not taken for errors reported in good faith.

Mandatory occurrence reporting covers accidents, serious incidents and specified reportable occurrences; the report must be made within the time prescribed by the rules.

The Accident Investigation Commission investigates accidents and serious incidents independently; its role is to determine causes and make safety recommendations, not to assign blame or liability.

An AME must report maintenance-related occurrences, including errors, unapproved parts, and defects that could affect airworthiness.

Voluntary/confidential reporting systems supplement mandatory reporting and protect the reporter's identity to encourage disclosure.

Safety recommendations from investigations are addressed to the regulator or operator, who must respond with corrective action; non-response is a safety governance failure.

Dangerous goods are carried under the ICAO Technical Instructions as implemented by the PNG rules; the shipper is responsible for classification, packing and documentation.

The operator must ensure acceptance checks are performed by trained personnel; an untrained person must not accept, handle or load dangerous goods.

Hidden dangerous goods (e.g. in baggage or cargo declared as general) are a recurring risk; acceptance staff must use the dangerous goods checklist and challenge suspicious items.

The 9 hazard classes and their divisions determine packing, labelling and segregation requirements; incompatible goods must be segregated per the loading rules.

The pilot in command must be notified of dangerous goods on board and of their location, and the notification must be recorded.

Aviation security measures include screening of passengers and cabin baggage, access control to airside areas, and protection of aircraft from unauthorised interference.

An AME working airside is subject to security screening and access control; tools and items that could be used to interfere with an aircraft must be controlled.

Facilitation (Annex 9) covers documentation, crew and passenger clearance, and the prevention of unnecessary delay; it interacts with security and customs requirements.

Enforcement action ranges from counselling and corrective action to suspension, variation or revocation of a licence or certificate, and prosecution.

A 'show cause' notice gives the holder an opportunity to respond before adverse action; failure to respond can result in the action being taken on the available evidence.

Strict liability offences apply to some regulatory breaches; intent is not always required, so a lapse in certification can be an offence regardless of good faith.

Penalties may include fines, imprisonment, licence suspension or cancellation; the Act and the applicable rule specify the maximum penalty.

Liability for maintenance errors can extend to the certifying engineer, the maintenance organisation and the operator, depending on the facts and the duty owed.

Falsifying records or certifying work not performed is among the most serious offences; it undermines the airworthiness system and attracts the heaviest sanctions.

An engineer has a duty to report known or suspected unapproved parts and to refuse to certify work that does not meet the approved data.

Voluntary disclosure and cooperation can mitigate enforcement outcomes, but do not eliminate liability for a deliberate breach.