AUSTRALIAN GENERAL-aviation pilots are trying to block a new Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) requirement for all light aircraft to carry aircraft-mounted emergency locator transmitters (ELTs).
The Australian Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) says that while over three-quarters of its membership agrees that ELT carriage should be compulsory, they want portable units, not the aircraft-mounted type. The cost of compliance is estimated by the CASA at A$10 million ($7.57 million). AOPA says that is "optimistic".
AOPA intends to fight for an amendment before the rule's proposed adoption date of 30 June 1996, which would make Australia the first country in the world with such a requirement.
The new regulation stipulates that an ELT must be fitted to an aircraft which is to fly more than 25nm (46km), unless the flight is to obtain maintenance for an unserviceable ELT. AOPA argues that portable ELTs would not ground aircraft because pilots could simply change the unit and fly.
The Association says that the compulsory carriage of global-positioning system (GPS) satellite-navigation systems would have much greater cost-benefits than ELTs by reducing the incidence of aircraft getting lost, and because pilots can report their location accurately in an emergency calls.
Source: Flight International
