Skydivers take control

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a sky diver
image: CASA

​First regulatory certificate issued for Part 149

A milestone in Australian aviation has been marked with the first regulatory certificate issued to a self-administering sport and recreational aviation organisation.

The Australian Parachute Federation has been issued with a certificate under Part 149 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.

Part 149 – Approved self-administering aviation organisations – specifies the requirements for aviation administration organisations involved in sport and recreational aircraft activities.

The federation is a not-for-profit organisation that administers civilian parachuting and has responsibility for nearly 400,000 parachute descents a year.

Rob Walker, executive manager, Stakeholder Engagement division, says the regulation brings a new approach to the safety regulation of sport and recreational aviation, with benefits for approved self-administering organisations and their members.

‘This has been made possible by the hard work of our General, Recreational and Sport Aviation team, who have worked collaboratively with members of the self-administering sport and recreational aviation organisation sector,’ he says.

‘This is a significant achievement for CASA and another example of the strong consultative process we have in place when developing and implementing regulations.’