At the time of park pad assessment, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's guidance documents for establishment of helipads did not prompt assessment of flight path interaction with other already established traffic.
If an assessment of a new or existing helipad follows Civil Aviation Safety Authority guidance, it would now prompt operators to assess flight path interaction and simultaneous operation and deconflict where necessary, reducing the risk of midair collision.
CASA advised that in August 2024 CASA updated guidance. Advisory Circular AC139.R-01 v3.0 carried the following:
2.2.1.5 … Heliport operators should establish open communication channels with aircraft operators, government stakeholders, nearby aerodrome operators (including certified aerodrome, non-certified aerodrome, helicopter landing site, heliport and vertiport) and, where appropriate, the local community.
and,
3.1.1.4 Further, it is also assumed that operations to/from a FATO in proximity to another FATO will not be simultaneous. If simultaneous operations are planned, appropriate separation distances between FATOs should be determined with due regard to issues such as rotor downwash, flight paths and other airspace limitations.
