Julian Moxon/BRUSSELS
THE EUROPEAN Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) has "tentatively agreed" to overturn its previous position of banning the operation of single-engined turbine-powered aircraft commercially in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and at night.
Pilatus Aircraft and Aerospatiale's Socata subsidiary, respectively manufacturers of the PC-12 and TBM700 large turbine-powered singles, have welcomed the initiative, but they remain critical of the slow progress in Europe, compared to North America and Australia.
A meeting of the JAA's operations committee on 28 March agreed to recommend such a relaxation in its new JAR OPS 1 rules covering commercial-aircraft operations in Europe, due to be introduced in April 1998.
According to the JAA's operations committee director, Richard Yates, the proposed rules are similar to those covering extended-range twin-engined operations for commercial airliners. "We would look at the certification, maintenance and operation of the aircraft and at pilot training."
The JAA remains cautious about following the lead set in North America and Australia, where intense pressure from operators of turbine singles has already seen the Canadian authorities agreeing to allow single-engined IMC and night operations. Cargo operations are approved in the USA, with agreement on passenger operations likely before the end of the year. Australia is expected to follow suit.
The JAA says, that it will allow cargo flights initially, but there will be a delay of "at least two years", before passenger operations are approved. "We are a long way from finalising anything," says Yates.
Pilatus Aircraft says that it sees no reason why passenger operations should not be approved faster. "We have been flying single-engined operations safely for years, so the proof [of turbine single-engined reliability] is there already," it adds. The company hopes that "special exceptions" could be made for certain operations, such as medical evacuation, where the lower operating costs of singles would encourage their use.
Source: Flight International
