Special flight safety checks are being carried out at 15 aerodromes across South Australia in early December 2011.

The checks are being conducted for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to make sure flight paths at the aerodromes continue to be safe.

Checks will be conducted at: Adelaide, Cleve, Edinburgh, Kimba, Kingscote, Olympic Dam, Leigh Creek, Parafield, Port Augusta, Renmark, Tumby Bay, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Whyalla and Wudinna.

A series of low level flights will be undertaken at each aerodrome to check the safety of flight paths.

This will ensure navigation aids are operational and not suffering interference, as well as looking for any new obstacles that could be a danger to aviation safety.

A twin-engine Cessna Conquest aircraft will be used to carry out the safety checks within an area up to 35 kilometres from the aerodromes.

Low-level flying is an essential part of the safety exercise, with the aircraft down as low as several hundred feet at times.

Local residents may notice an uncommon flying pattern, but this is to make sure obstacles are accurately marked on charts and no new obstacles exist. Obstacles can be towers, trees, masts or buildings that can be a danger to aircraft.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority requires aerodrome flight path safety checks to be carried out every three years to maintain a high level of air safety at all aerodromes.

The South Australia checks are scheduled to be carried out between Monday 5 and Sunday 11 December.

If poor weather or other factors do not allow the safety checks to go ahead on the planned days they will be carried out as soon as possible.

CASA has contracted the operation of the special check flights out to Radiola Aerospace Pty Ltd – a company with wide international expertise in these specialist operations.