Acting CASA CEO and Director of Aviation Safety Graeme Crawford has defended CASA's position on general aviation in the monthly CASA Briefing newsletter released this week.
Standing in for Shane Carmody, Crawford said that GA community perceptions of the regulator trying to destroy general aviation were false.
"Recent debate about safety regulation and the general aviation sector has focused on the need for a sustainable and viable aviation industry," Crawford said. "Implicit in this debate is the suggestion by some people that CASA does not support a sustainable and viable general aviation sector. I would like to assure everyone this is simply not true.
"There is no CASA agenda against general aviation and we regard the sector as a vital component of the national aviation community. Many of CASA’s staff are participants in general aviation, or started their careers in the sector, and have a practical understanding of the issues and challenges the sector faces"
Crawford also stated that CASA would "do our best to provide an appropriate safety regulatory framework that creates confidence in general aviation across the broader community.
"It is important that people from outside aviation have trust in the safety performance of general aviation and part of our job is to help ensure that trust is maintained.
"CASA is focused on regulatory solutions that are both practical, proportionate and address aviation safety risk. We use available aviation sector information such as accident and incident data, surveillance findings and sector risk profiles to develop informed solutions."
Crawford cited the changes to the medical system, in particular the introduction of the Basic Class 2, as examples of the regulator's commitment to general aviation.