Update from the General Aviation Unit on Q4 2023 activities

At a glance

• The General Aviation Unit has released its update on fourth quarter of 2023 activity.
• Work continues on Pilot Medical Declaration and Cost Sharing, with the consultations being released in November 2023.
• New safety resources such as safety sense leaflets, podcasts and survey results have been shared with the community.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority’s General Aviation (GA) Unit has today released an update on fourth quarter of 2023 activity. The unit has continued to follow its remit of regulating only when necessary and deliver on top-level principles for better GA regulation.

Michael Macdonald, Head of General Aviation said:

“The fourth quarter of the year brings the beginning of the winter season. Although there are fewer people out flying, the GA Unit continues to be busy with regulatory and oversight activities.

“We released two consultations to the community during this quarter on Cost Sharing and Pilot Medical Declarations.

“In November we launched version four of our Skyway Code, which continues to be a helpful tool for all GA pilots with key information relevant to their flying.

“Our work on active carbon monoxide detectors has also continued with the release of our survey results infographic.”

Achievements over the fourth quarter (October to December) in 2023 include:

• Publication of a consultation on proposed changes to the regulations on advertising cost sharing flights by private pilots. The original consultation was released in November 2021, this resulted in the development of additional measures for this consultation to be released in November 2023 to ensure the public are able to make an informed choice when planning cost sharing arrangements. This consultation is now closed, and results are being considered.
• Following the Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD) review in October 2022 and the subsequent “We asked, you said, we did” response in March 2023, the phase two formal consultation on changes and improvements to the PMD process was released in November 2023. This consultation is now closed, and results are being considered.
• The fourth version of the Skyway Code was released, which covers key updates on key retained law, aeronautical information and updated guidance on fuel management and controlled airspace.

The team engaged with our GA stakeholders and pilots, either in person or virtually:

• The Airworthiness team held a number of Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) roadshows to engage with industry about policy changes and how the CAA expects continuing airworthiness organisations to work.
• The Air Display team held their annual post season display symposium at IWM Duxford to continue to engage with the display community.

GA community resources and materials shared to support the UK GA flying community to operate safely include:

• The latest publication of a new Safety Sense Leaflet on Occurrence Reporting. This forms part of the popular General Aviation (GA) Safety Sense Leaflets series which the UK Civil Aviation Authority is currently updating.
• The final General Aviation podcast for the year called ‘Winter Flying’ was released in December and covers various aspects of the challenges that come with flying in cold and unpredictable conditions.
• Work on active carbon monoxide detectors continues with the release of our survey results infographic. The findings gathered from this survey help to shape the future use of these devices and how they could be used in piston engine aircraft.
• Just Culture is an essential element of a broader safety culture, promoting continuous learning and encouraging pilots to openly share essential safety related information. The new series of Occurrence Reports looks at real-life MOR case studies.

Astral Aviation Consulting (AAC), a third-party supplier, is providing support on GA Safety promotions. Activities over this past quarter include:

• Workshop: Winter Weather
• Workshop: Engine Failure After Takeoff (EFATO)

Registration is now open for the next workshop on Beyond the PPL.

Astral continues to share useful GA safety information on its website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Notes to Editors

• The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the UK’s aviation regulator. We work so that the aviation industry meets the highest safety standards and consumers have choice, value for money, are protected and treated fairly when they fly.
• Further information and resources for the GA community are available on our website at General aviation | Civil Aviation Authority (caa.co.uk)
• You can contact the CAA’s GA team at ga@caa.co.uk