Russia may be preparing for a new era of relatively free skies, but air crews who fall foul of an air code designed to promote light aircraft and helicopter use have been warned.
Rosaviatsiya, the state aviation authority, has proposed to the Russian transport ministry that deliberate transgressors should face criminal prosecution. The proposal is in anticipation of the introduction on 1 November of new, more liberal rules for Russian airspace which will mainly affect general aviation pilots and helicopter operators in lower airspace.
Previously, pilots sent in an application and waited 24h for permission to be granted. Now, pilots will simply notify the authorities about their flight and be able to use Russian airspace after about an hour.
Rosaviatsiya introduced the new rules with the intention of promoting GA activity in Russia, which has long been stifled by restrictive airspace regulations and registration issues.
It is impossible not to notice the recent growth in accidents in general aviation which has been caused by deliberate violations of the air code, which is intended to protect flight safety, Rosaviatsiya says.
The agency cited the example of a light aircraft that crashed in August 2010 in Bashkortostan, killing the pilot. When the wreckage was examined, it was found that the aircraft was not on the state register, and did not have an airworthiness certificate, despite having the registration number RA-0070G which belonged to a different aircraft.
Rosaviatsiya notes that deliberate violations of the air code differ notably from unintentional violations by aircrew. It says conscientious pilots need not fear criminal prosecution or the existing fines regime for minor, unintentional infractions.
Source: Flight International
