Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) CEO Ben Morgan has hit back at CASA over the extension to the ADS-B IFR deadline, saying it doesn't go far enough.
After months of refusing to budge on any extension to the 2 February 2017 deadline, CASA relented last week and pushed the deadline for private operations back to meet the USA date of January 2020.
Morgan's statements were contained in a letter sent to CASA Acting Director of Aviation Safety Shane Carmody yesterday, which also took the regulator to task over what AOPA says is a failure to genuinely consult the industry.
"The AOPA Australia wish to be clear in communicating that there has been NO genuine discussion, NO genuine consideration and NO genuine consultation by CASA with industry on the ADS-B extension issue," Morgan says.
"There has been NO genuine opportunity to collectively discuss the merits of both CASA’s position and that of industry, an entirely unacceptable situation.
"As a result of the above, CASA’s recently announced ADS-B 2020 extension instrument does not reflect the needs of the Australian general aviation industry and is entirely unworkable in its present form, providing no genuine value or relief to industry at a time when it is needed most."
Morgan told Australian Flying that AOPA doesn't believe the extension is workable because it applies to only private operations, whereas it is the commercial operators who are under the greatest pressure from the 2 February 2017 deadline.
"The ADS-B 2020 announcement is a calculated and deceptive political sleight of hand that is designed to make it appear as if CASA are working to assist industry, when in fact CASA are doing nothing and giving nothing," Morgan said.
AOPA has called on CASA to meet with them in Canberra next week to discuss the issue "so as to arrive at a workable industry solution that provides honest assistance on the issue of ADS-B going forward."
The full text of the AOPA letter to Shane Carmody is on the link below.