Sun, Jun 06, 2004
Concerns about commercial adventure operations prompt
overhaul
The New Zealand Herald is reporting that the Civil Aviation
Authority is preparing to rewrite the rules governing hang gliding
and paragliding operations in that country. According to CAA
spokesperson Bill Simmer, the work on the new rules, which will
directly address commercial adventure operations, among other
issues, will begin in July.
Sommer stated that the existing rules only cover amateur,
non-commercial operations and would be considered cumbersome to the
operations of commercial adventure operators. He also added that
the decision to change the rules was made last year and was not
spurred by a recent incident in which a pax in a tandem hang
gliding accident.
Stephen Richard Parson was recently convinced of manslaughter in
the death of 23-year-old Greek tourist Eleni Zeri, who fell to her
death March 29 during a Sky Trek commercial hang gliding flight
near Queenstown.
"What happened in his case was in no way related to the
regulations. The company he worked for had safety procedures in
place that were in line with regulations, but he failed to follow
them," said Sommer.
He added, however, that the CAA is of the opinion that current
regulations were not designed for commercial operations. Some
operators have complained that they had to apply to the CAA several
times for different aspects of their business, making the rules
unwieldy for both the operators and the CAA.
The goal of the new rule is to streamline regulation of the
industry, and make safety procedures easier for both the operators
as well as the CAA.
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