On 20 August 2010, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority
(CASA) cancelled the Air Operator's Certificates (AOC) of both
Avtex Air Services Pty Ltd (Avtex) and Skymaster Air Services Pty
Ltd (Skymaster) following a fatal crash involving an aircraft
operated by Skymaster which was attempting to make an emergency
landing on Canley Vale Road near Bankstown Airport. An AOC is a
permission granted by CASA to conduct certain commercial aviation
activities.
In Avtex Air Services Pty Ltd v Civil Aviation Safety
Authority [2011] AAT 61, Senior Member Fice of the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) affirmed CASA's
decision to cancel Avtex's AOC having accepted evidence of a
serious and imminent risk to air safety and breaches of conditions
of Avtex's AOC, partly arising from the issues raised in an
audit of Skymaster's operation.
