ASAs strengthen aviation safety in Tasmania

Aviation safety advisors Tim Penney and Brad Johnson recently visited Tasmania to engage with a wide variety of operators.

The rugged island state – known for its diverse landscapes, including mountainous terrain, dense forests, and remote wilderness – offers a unique environment for aviation.

‘It's the only Australian state without a permanent CASA office,’ Tim says.

‘We need to ensure that we provide sufficient coverage from a safety education point of view because the flying environment down in Tasmania can often be challenging.

‘There are also many remote areas, and the helicopter industry in particular is very important in Tasmania, serving as a vital part of their communications infrastructure.’

Tim and Brad spent a full day with aviation organisation Par Avion at Cambridge Airport, running a condensed version of our wet season seminar presentation for their flying students and instructors.

‘It might seem a bit counterintuitive to deliver that message in Tasmania as it’s geared to pilots flying in the Top End of Australia,’ Tim says.

‘But many of their graduates with commercial pilot licences head far north looking for their first job.

‘They’d heard about the success of our wet season seminar over the years and asked if we could come down and present at least a cut-down version, which was very well received.

‘In the afternoon, we ran our instructor seminar, where we discussed situational awareness and decision-making. We also talked about supervision and flight reviews, and discussed how far instructors should let students go before taking over.

‘Again, it was very well received by all of the instructors, and we were gratified to see they were happy to ground everyone for the sessions. It really showed a commitment to a strong safety partnership.’

Brad also had the opportunity to present our engineering seminar Safety culture, critical? to engineers from Par Avion as well as other operators from the Hobart region.

‘This was also very well received,’ Tim says. ‘We covered topics such as safety culture in the maintenance environment and Part 66 licensing. It was a good presentation with lots of questions and answers – a truly worthwhile opportunity down there.’

Brad and Tim next moved through Launceston and headed to the north coast of Tasmania, where Tim presented our current seminar, Fuel for thought, to private and recreational flyers.

‘Towards the end of the week, we also visited places like Flinders Island Aviation at Bridgport, where their safety manager, Jamie Taylor, was a recent recipient of our safety manager scholarship,’ Tim adds.

‘They're a small Part 135 operator working in a harsh environment, taking mail, freight, and passengers between Tasmania and places like Flinders Island and other remote islands off the north coast. It’s quite a unique operation.’

Given the absence of a CASA office on the Apple Isle, the ASAs aim to visit Tasmania at least twice a year, with another visit planned for April in 2025.

‘It’s always a good opportunity to spread the aviation safety message to that area of Australia,’ Tim says.

‘With our small team of ASAs around the country, we’re finding we get better value by going into specific organisations to assist them with meeting their safety responsibilities and providing advice through seminars and other forms of support.

‘We’re increasingly finding that organisations are opening their doors to us and really appreciate being able to sit down one-on-one.

‘And it’s also a way for us to connect them with various parts of CASA that can provide further assistance.’