ICAO Discusses Aviation Security

The annual meeting of the ICAO Aviation Security Panel will be held in Montreal 11-15 September to discuss the adequacy of its Annex 17, which promulgates security standards and recommended practices for world civil aviation. The recent discovery of a terrorist plot in London to bring liquid explosives aboard airliners has significantly altered the agenda, with the ICAO Council ordering the Aviation Security Panel to actively consider these events and develop countermeasures. IAOPA representatives John Sheehan and Frank Hofmann will participate in the meeting.   

AOPA-India Progress Report

AOPA-India President Ram Pattisapu recently provided the following update: "I want to tell everyone at IAOPA that we have had a healthy start to our organization, having built it up from just 3 members to nearly 60 in less than a year. We are trying to get 100 members by the end of this year and are ambitiously planning 300+ members by year end of 2007. The reason for such optimism of course, is the anticipated massive growth of aviation in India. We are creating some strategies by which all student pilots will have access to becoming members through a subsidized program established by flight schools, so that Flight Training magazine and AOPA Pilot can be given to these students as they embark in their careers in aviation.

"We are promoting the Web site and trying to get some political action issues together to ask IAOPA to help us with these will be primarily issues relating to ICAO compliance that the Indian DGCA chooses not to acknowledge, and in helping the DGCA adopt accepted GA initiatives in the US and other countries with regard to transparency in testing, licensing, examination procedures, and so on.

"We are working with several experienced and knowledgeable pilots in India who have had a long history of having flown and worked in the Indian systems to help us form a team of advisors-we will select from this group a leader to assume the presidency of AOPA-India-this should happen by the end of the year. We have devised a number of significant benefits for members that should make our organization attractive and beneficial to GA pilots in India. The future is bright for us.

"I look forward to working with IAOPA and all affiliates to build our organization."   

AOPA-Hellas President Accepts Eurocontrol Role

AOPA-Hellas President Yiouli Kalafati recently sent the following note: "I would like to inform you of a change in my professional life. Beginning 1 September, I will start to work for Eurocontrol in Brussels. I will join the Airport Throughput Business Division and will work on the "Airport Airside Capacity Enhancement (ACE)" project for European Airports. More information on this project may be found online.

"As I will not work full time, I plan to visit Athens often, almost twice per month. So I will continue to work and contribute to AOPA-Hellas, hoping that I will manage."

Ms. Kalafati is an experienced air traffic controller currently working in Athens.   

Service Bulletin Applicability Defined by FAA

In the past, several AOPAs have contested attempts by their CAAs to make manufacturer's recommended practices, service bulletins or letters mandatory within their countries. A letter from the FAA, explaining their policy on recommended bulletins was that they were not mandatory unless incorporated into an approved continuing airworthiness program or an airworthiness directive, was sufficient to persuade most CAAs to follow the FAA position. However, a recent challenge within the U.S. government as to whether service bulletins could be considered mandatory was again put to rest by a FAA written interpretation, stating that, "In general, unless a service bulletin is incorporated either directly or by reference into an [approved] document that makes its requirements mandatory, [it is not mandatory]." This letter will be published in the information section of IAOPA online.   

Mr. Kobeh González was the Representative of Mexico on the ICAO Council since January 1998. Prior to joining the Organization, he held a number of posts with his Government's Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics.   

More information about AOPA's new Airport Watch is available at AOPA online.   

Liviu Ionescu, spokesman for AOPA-Romania, notes that the August IAOPA eNews story about that organization stating, "... the Romanian Association of Private Aviation Operators, stepped in to revive the AOPA in that country" was incorrect. In fact the RAPAO had nothing to do with the AOPA-Romania revival, only a group of interested pilots and aircraft owners participated in the revival. Also, the correct email contact for AOPA-Romania is info@aopa.ro.