Part 119 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) governs Australian air transport operators. It names four key personnel positions, says what each is responsible for, and makes one of them, the chief executive officer, accountable to both the operator and CASA.
That accountability is often misunderstood, sometimes by the people who hold it.
Who the Part 119 key personnel are
Section 28(3) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 defines key personnel by the duties of the position, “however they are described”, not by title. For Australian air transport operators, CASR uses three of those positions and adds a fourth:
chief executive officer (regulations 119.125 and 119.130)
head of flying operations (119.135 and 119.140)
head of training and checking (119.145 and 119.150; the position is required by 119.036)
safety manager (119.155 and 119.160; required by 119.035)
Head of operations (Parts 138, 141 and 142) and continuing airworthiness manager (Part 42) belong to other Parts. They are not Part 119 key personnel.
A note on “accountable manager”
Many operators use the title accountable manager, often because it appears in other approvals they hold, such as under Part 42 or Part 145. Part 119 does not use it. Whatever the organisation chart says, the person who holds or carries out the chief executive officer’s responsibilities is the CEO for Part 119 purposes.
What the chief executive officer is responsible for
Regulation 119.130(1) is specific. In summary, the CEO is responsible for ensuring that the operator:
has sufficient suitably experienced, qualified and competent personnel, a suitable management structure, and adequate finance and resources for safe operations
complies with the civil aviation legislation, and with the aviation safety laws of any foreign country where it conducts Australian air transport operations
implements and manages its safety management system, with an organisational structure that keeps the safety manager independent and not subject to undue influence
sets and maintains standards for flight and ground operations
tells CASA about aircraft leasing, financing or supply arrangements that may affect safe operations or may contravene the legislation
The CEO is also responsible for safety performance indicators and targets, continuous improvement of the exposition, training and checking of operational safety-critical personnel other than flight crew, and ensuring the other key personnel satisfactorily carry out their responsibilities.
Regulation 119.130(2) then makes the CEO accountable to the operator and CASA for ensuring those responsibilities are carried out effectively.
In many operators, the CEO is also the managing director, which links board decisions directly to safety outcomes.
The work can be shared. The accountability cannot
Part 119 spreads responsibility deliberately. The head of flying operations manages flying operations and reports to the CEO on compliance (119.140). The head of training and checking manages flight crew training and checking and reports to the head of flying operations (119.150). The safety manager manages the safety management system and reports to the CEO on its effectiveness (119.160).
None of that moves the CEO’s accountability. Under 119.130(1)(f) and (2), the CEO remains accountable for ensuring the other key personnel carry out their responsibilities effectively. In practice, a CEO should be able to show that they:
understand the operator’s principal safety and compliance risks
receive safety and compliance information that tells them something, not just that activity has occurred
test the assurances they are given rather than accept them
resource the operation to the standard the exposition describes
act, and can show they acted, when deficiencies are found
CASA has a direct remedy when this is not happening: under 119.105(2) it can direct an operator to remove key personnel, including a CEO who is not properly managing the safety matters for which they are accountable.
The safety management system is the CEO’s instrument
The safety manager runs the safety management system; the CEO is responsible for ensuring it is implemented and managed (119.130(1)(b)(iii)). Approving the manual is the start of that, not the whole of it. A CEO should know how safety information reaches them, what it passes through on the way, and whether assurance activity is finding problems or simply confirming that none were looked for.
Where KMF can help
We know these roles from both sides of the table: at CASA, accountable for the oversight of certified aviation organisations, and in industry as an airline chief operating officer and senior check and training captain. We work directly and confidentially with CEOs and Part 119 key personnel on:
executive briefings for incoming and serving CEOs and key personnel
independent reviews of key personnel arrangements, reporting lines and the information that actually reaches the CEO
governance support for CEO oversight of the safety management system and the exposition
preparation for key personnel changes, CASA assessments or interviews, and regulatory scrutiny
Directors carry a separate duty under section 28BE of the Act, covered in our article on boardroom governance.
Discuss your key personnel arrangements
If you hold, or are about to take on, a Part 119 key personnel position and want an independent view of where you stand, start a conversation. Every enquiry is read by a director and treated as confidential, and we will tell you plainly what we find.
