A significant milestone has been achieved by the Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) team at Australia-based aeromedical service LifeFlight with its receipt of Part 145 approval from the country's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). The new approval demonstrates that the LifeFlight AMO is operating to internationally recognised aviation regulations.

“Working to Part 145 requirements brings good business practices and focuses on safety, training and human factors management,” says engineering operations manager Michael Dopking.

The CASA Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) Parts 42, 66, 145 and 147 regulations introduced an outcome-based approach to aviation safety and bring flexibility to how maintenance organisations can achieve regulatory compliance. Until recently, regular public transport (RPT) operators such as international and commercial airlines were the main organisations that had transitioned to Part 145.

However, for the past five years, although approved as a CASA CAR 30 organisation, the engineering department of LifeFlight has been operating to many of the Part 145 requirements, such as human factors management and tool control. Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) and Queensland Health, organisations to which LifeFlight is contracted, have aviation standards that draw heavily from the EASA and CASA Part 145 regulations. So, while LifeFlight has already been practising the requirements of Part 145, the approval granted by CASA is the official recognition that the processes, procedures, people and culture of the AMO are to the standard required by Part 145 regulations.

LifeFlight's AMO is responsible for the maintenance of 16 helicopters including one of the biggest fleets of AW139s in Australia, three Bell 412s, a BK117 and AS350, two Learjet 45s and four Bombardier 604 jets. LifeFlight AMO maintenance bases are located as far afield as Singapore and Tasmania, throughout Queensland and operate 24/7/365 days a year.

The AMO's exposition and all the development work to gain Part 145 approval were carried out in house by LifeFlight staff. “It's our exposition, our procedures so we own it, we use it, and it's not something provided by a consultant that might sit on a shelf,” says Dopking.

“It's been very much a team effort to bring the AMO to this level. The culture and commitment by all of the engineering team were recognised by the CASA staff carrying out the pre-approval assessment,” adds engineering general manager Peter De Marzi.