Air Law for the PNG Instrument Rating
Air Law is the regulatory paper of the PNG CASA Instrument Rating examination. It tests whether you can place an IFR flight inside the PNG legal framework: which instrument gives CASA its power, which rule Part governs the flight, and which clearance, licence and document requirements apply before you enter cloud.
The framework
The Civil Aviation Act 2000 establishes the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA PNG) and the enforcement structure. The Act is implemented through the PNG Civil Aviation Rules (PNG CARs): Part 1 definitions, Part 61 flight crew licensing including the instrument rating, Part 91 general operating and flight rules, Parts 121 and 135 air transport, Part 172 air traffic services, Part 139 aerodromes. As a Chicago Convention State, PNG applies ICAO Annex 2 Rules of the Air over its territory; AIP PNG and NOTAMs carry operational detail. PNG uses the AY location indicator group, and the Port Moresby FIR is the principal IFR environment.
What the examiner targets
- Clearance discipline: an IFR flight in controlled airspace needs an ATC clearance, and levels, routes and squawks must be read back.
- PIC authority: the pilot in command has final authority and may deviate from a rule in an emergency, but must report the deviation.
- Currency: an instrument rating is valid only while Part 61 recency and proficiency requirements are met; renewal is by an approved proficiency check.
- Documents: licence, medical, rating, certificate of airworthiness, maintenance release and flight log available for inspection.
Worked example
A charter pilot's proficiency check was 14 months ago and no extension applies. May he fly the night IFR sector as sole pilot? No: the rating exists but is not current, so the sector must be flown VFR, or by a pilot who meets Part 61 recency, until he passes a proficiency check. The trap is treating the licence as authority; authority is licence plus current rating plus medical.
Traps
Reading the Act when the question turns on a rule; importing Australian numbers; skipping readback; assuming an emergency deviation needs no report; assuming an IR cancels VFR minima or icing limits.