The following Safety Fact Sheet has been prepared to provide journalists and other interested parties with relevant current information concerning the business. A separate Corporate Fact Sheet is also available.
- Airlines PNG recognises Safety as the number one core value of its business and of its customers. It is a commitment to our community and its people that we strive for every day.
- Safety is an absolute priority over all other aspects of the business and is in embedded in all of our decision making
- Airlines PNG has 18 employees who are directly accountable for operational safety across all sectors of the Company. Senior roles within this include the positions of General Manager Safety Systems, Manager Safety Systems and Compliance, Flight Safety Officer, Manager Engineering Quality, Ground Operations Safety Officer and an Occupational Health Safety Officer.
- All staff receive induction training of Safety Management Systems and receive refresher training on a regular basis.
- Airlines PNG has an operations centre, maintenance planning and engineering facility that operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year to support the airline operations.
- Airlines PNG vigorously implements a comprehensive Safety Management System and continuously reviews all work practices and reporting guidelines, which are discussed through regular safety meetings.
- The Safety Management System is designed to prevent accidents, injuries, and illness in the workplace and requires the involvement and assistance of employees and clients alike to ensure its complete benefits flow through to the travelling public, employees and to the Company.
- The program involves a continuous quality improvement approach and is affected by the day to day safety consciousness of all at Airlines PNG.
- Airlines PNG is now averaging 18 external audits per year by major international resource companies and regulatory authorities.
- Airline PNG operates to, and maintains compliance with, the regulations of PNG and Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authorities (CASA). To comply with regulatory requirements, all activities are performed in accordance with procedures approved by these regulatory authorities.
- The Company’s Safety Systems department ensures that the Company’s operating activities comply with safety management, quality management and compliance standards detailed in the Company manuals that have been approved by the regulatory authorities.
- Change Management and Risk Assessment processes are undertaken on any new business opportunity or change in standard operations to ensure all departments have input and feedback to ensure the change is robust.
- All incident reports received by the Safety Systems department are risk assessed and the resulting assessments and investigations prioritised and assigned to the respective departments for corrective and preventative actions.
- Airlines PNG runs a monthly Safety Group meeting attended by senior management which analyses incident reports, trends and corrective actions.
- 2011 has seen a continuation of the improved reporting culture. A strong reporting culture is always a cornerstone to a strong Safety Management System.
- In terms of our ‘Twin Otter’ fleet of 10 aircraft, the first of the Twin Otter fleet has completed its upgrade to include the latest flight deck safety systems available. These aircraft are now probably the best equipped 300 series Twin Otter aircraft available, and provide levels of safety equating to that normally only found on much larger aircraft.
- The Twin Otter aircraft upgrades include fitting the latest satellite based navigational equipment which will provide safe operation in bad weather
- Airlines PNG has almost completed the installation of Terrain Warning Systems and Traffic Alerting Systems which will provide pilots with greater awareness of their flight path and potential conflicts with other aircraft and the ground.
- The above safety upgrades far exceed the standards required by regulatory authorities, and even those of major resource clients.
- In terms of our 11 Dash-8 aircraft, these aircraft are already fitted with:
- Terrain Warning System
- Cockpit Voice Recorder
- Flight Data Recorder
- Traffic Alerting System
- Satellite Navigation Approach equipment
- Airlines PNG is currently completing the roll-out of Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) across all Dash-8 aircraft, to allow total flight profile trend analysis which is used by major airlines around the world.
- Airlines PNG is working with PNG CASA and a European design authority to develop better satellite based approaches at a number of PNG highlands aerodromes.
- The Senior Management of Airlines PNG have collective depth of experience from international airlines, regulators and industry bodies. Each senior manager has on average over 25 years experience in the airline industry.
- The Airlines PNG Engineering department has staffing of over 160 and the average level of aircraft maintenance experience is over 20 years.
- All aircraft maintenance engineers undertake basic licence ratings with PNG CASA, type ratings for each aircraft type, safety management system training, supervisor training, refresher training and human factors training on an ongoing basis
- The Airlines PNG Engineering department structure includes line maintenance management, hangar maintenance management, quality assurance, technical services, workshops, technical material planning and engineering planning.
- The Airlines PNG Maintenance Planning department has a team of qualified staff that ensure all aircraft in the fleet meet their required maintenance commitments and is headed by a manager with wide industry experience, including from Airbus.
- In terms of pilot recruitment, crew members of Company aircraft types shall normally have the following minimum experience/qualification:
- Dash 8 Aircraft
- Captain:
- Airline Transport Pilot Licence
- Multi-engine instrument rating
- At least 3,500 hours, total flight time.
- At least 500 hours multi-engine command time.
- First Officer:
- Commercial Pilot Licence
- Multi-engine instrument rating
- At least 1,250 hours, total flight time.
- Twin Otter (Dash-6)
- Captain:
- Commercial Pilot Licence
- Multi-engine instrument rating
- At least 2,000 hours, total flight time.
- At least 500 hours multi-engine time.
- First Officer:
- Commercial Pilot Licence
- Multi-engine instrument rating
- At least 200 hours, total flight time.
· The Airlines PNG Flight Operations department employs some of the most experienced pilots in the industry. The average experience of our Dash-8 captains is in excess of 16,000 hours of flight time, with 15 years’ experience flying in the challenging PNG environment.
· Induction training for crew includes understanding of, and exams on:
o PNG CASA Rules/ Minimum Equipment Lists/ Corporate Safety Systems/ Emergency Procedures/ Dangerous Goods/ Threat and Error Management/ Hypoxia/ Global Navigation Position System/Traffic Alerting System.
o For Twin Otter flight crew, a five day Engineering Ground School, and then type rating on the aircraft.
o For Dash-8 flight crew, a ten day Engineering Ground School, and then 8 x 4 hour simulator sessions in Australia.
o 150 hours of line training for Dash-8 Captains, over at least two days.
o 75 hours of line training for Twin Otter Captains, over at least two days.
· Recurrent crew training includes:
o Line checks every 12 months.
o For Twin Otter flight crew, a 1.5 hour proficiency check, twice annually in the aircraft.
o For Dash-8 flight crew, 2 x 4 hour simulator based proficiency checks, in Australia twice annually.
o Cockpit Resource Management and Dangerous Goods Awareness every 2 years.
o Threat and Error Management annually.
o Emergency Procedures Course annually.
