ExecuJet Australasia Obtains BARS Accreditation

ExecuJet Australasia has officially been accredited as the first Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) fixed wing operator in the world with zero findings and become the second operator worldwide to be registered without restriction against the new risk based standard.

The BARS Program has been developed by the Australian office of the Flight Safety Foundation, the global independent body for aviation safety in conjunction with some of the world's leading resource companies, including BHP Billiton, Lihir Gold, MMG,Rio Tinto, Shell and Xstrata to make flying safer for personnel employed in the resource sector, lifting the global aviation safety standards.

Rio Tinto's principal adviser for Aviation Safety, Geoff Want, said he was delighted that Rio Tinto could partner with the FSF to develop the standard and take aviation safety to new heights. "The BAR Standard Program is significant step forward for the mining and onshore industry and will help progress standards similar to those in other industries such as gas and oil," he said.

Until now individual resource companies had used a variety of aviation standards, impacting on aircraft operators with duplicated efforts and mixed messages. Due to the variety of operation types, geographic diversity and differences in national aviation authorities’ regulatory oversight, the Flight Safety Foundation identified an opportunity to standardise the manner in which independent safety audits are conducted.

The BARS program is a common aviation safety standard for the resource sector, supplementing existing national and international regulations. Based on best-practice aviation safety principles, BARS will make flying safer for those in the resources industry by introducing a standardised safety audit across the sector replacing multiple audits with one review conducted to a rigorous international standard.

"Based on leading aviation industry risk management principles, I am confident that it will improve aviation safety for everyone -companies, operators, employees, their families and supporting communities," Geoff added.

Darren McGoldrick, Managing Director ExecuJet Australasia, said, "We are very proud to have achieved a zero findings audit and to be the first fixed wing operator globally to do so. Our operations, maintenance and quality teams have done a tremendous job in ensuring our operational and safety standards are maintained to such high standard."

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