Commonwealth legislation

CASA 420/08 - Permission and direction - helicopter special operations

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

2/10 complexity

What this does: This instrument gives Helistar Aviation (a specific helicopter company) special permission to break normal aviation safety rules during dangerous emergency missions.

Normally: Aviation law requires passengers to sit in seats with seatbelts fastened.

Under this permission: During search and rescue, police, or firefighting operations (or training for these), rescue workers can ride on the outside of the helicopter (on the undercarriage/skids) while the aircraft hovers, and they don't need to be belted in. This only applies when it's too dangerous or impossible to land the helicopter.

Key constraint: The operator must follow the specific safety procedures in their CASA-approved operations manual when doing this.

Why it matters: This allows emergency responders to board or exit helicopters in situations where landing isn't possible—such as over water, cliffs, or dense forest—while maintaining regulatory oversight.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in CASA 420/08 - Permission and direction - helicopter special operations.

CASA 420/08 - Permission and direction - helicopter special operations

Instrument number CASA 420/08

I, gregory JEROME VAUGHAN, Group General Manager, General Aviation Operations, a delegate of CASA, make this instrument under subregulations 207 (3), 250 (2) and 251 (9) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988.

[Signed G.J. Vaughan]

Greg Vaughan
Group General Manager
General Aviation Operations

2 October 2008

Permission and direction — helicopter special operations

1 Duration

This instrument:

(a) commences on the day after it is registered; and

(b) stops having effect at the end of 31 August 2010.

2 Application

This instrument applies to a helicopter flight mentioned in Schedule 1 (a special operation) by Helistar Aviation Pty Ltd, trading as Helistar Aviation, Aviation Reference Number 585948 (the operator).

3 Permission

When a helicopter is in the hover to enable a passenger to leave or board, the passenger may be carried on the undercarriage for the purpose of leaving or boarding.

4 Direction

When a helicopter is in the hover to enable a passenger to leave or board, the passenger is not required to occupy a seat or wear a seat belt.

5 Condition

The permission in section 3 is subject to the condition mentioned in Schedule 2.

Schedule 1 Special operation

A helicopter search and rescue operation, law enforcement operation, firefighting operation or training for any of those operations, in which, for the purpose of the operation or training, it is necessary for a person to leave or board the helicopter when a landing is not possible or safe.

Schedule 2 Condition

The special operation must be carried out in accordance with the instructions, approved by CASA, set out in the operator’s operations manual.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 CASA 420/08 - Permission and direction - helicopter special operations