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-   -   ‘Reckless’ Canadian pilots commit major quarantine breach in Darwin (https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-zealand-pacific/636782-reckless-canadian-pilots-commit-major-quarantine-breach-darwin.html)

werbil 14th Nov 2020 22:02
‘Reckless’ Canadian pilots commit major quarantine breach in Darwin
 
‘Reckless’ Canadian pilots commit major quarantine breach in Darwin


Two Canadian firefighting pilots breach quarantine by leaving Darwin hotel ‘several times’


A PAIR of Canadian firefighting pilots that had been allowed to quarantine at a Darwin hotel broke critical COVID-19 safety rules by leaving the building “several times”, in a major breach that has angered authorities.

NT Health confirmed the two men, who were due to travel interstate to work as a bushfire emergency management team once they have finished quarantine, arrived in the Territory from Canada on Monday, November 9.

In a reckless and disrespectful act that authorities said “put the safety of Territorians at risk”, the men left their hotel several times and were spotted not wearing masks while inside the premise.

Their breaches were uncovered during an NT Police compliance check.

The men were fined and carted off to the Howard Springs facility for the rest of their quarantine stint.

The men had returned a negative coronavirus test according to NT Health.

All other international arrivals have been made to quarantine at Darwin’s Howard Springs facility but an NT Health spokeswoman said under national guidelines flight crew are able to undertake quarantine “under an alternative arrangement”.

Canada has seen a significant spike in coronavirus cases this week, including a total of 5516 cases on Thursday — the highest daily caseload the country had seen since the beginning of the pandemic.

By contrast, the Northern Territory has not recorded a single community-transmitted case of coronavirus since the start of the crisis and no one has died.

NT Police Incident Controller acting commander Sachin Sharma said it was “disappointing that these individuals engaged in irresponsible behaviour”.

The NT recorded five cases of coronavirus on Friday, with all the new positive tests being recorded among newly repatriated Australians flying into Darwin from overseas.

A total of 829 repatriated Australians have been put into quarantined at Howard Springs since the operation began on October 23.
Another little reminder that what you do when you are "not in the office" matters - let's hope there are no collateral consequences.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....87526d1982.jpg

wheels_down 14th Nov 2020 22:05
Send them back. Simple. Pilots, Doctors, or Astronaut. Who cares who you are, back you go.

TBM-Legend 14th Nov 2020 23:16
I guess we are all sick of people who don't think the 'rules' , whether you like them or not, are not for them. I wonder which company is involved?

Ragnor 14th Nov 2020 23:41
Send them back. Plenty of Aussie pilots capable to do their job.

krismiler 15th Nov 2020 00:13
Luckily they didn't do it in Singapore, a FEDEX pilot got a month in jail for leaving his hotel.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-dugan-yeargan

morno 15th Nov 2020 01:12
Originally Posted by Ragnor (Post 10926752)
Send them back. Plenty of Aussie pilots capable to do their job.
Ahhh yes, because it would be extremely quick and easy to train up Australian pilots to learn to water bomb a fire from a Dash 8 (assuming that it’s that particular aircraft in question) :rolleyes:

Global Aviator 15th Nov 2020 03:30
Originally Posted by krismiler (Post 10926759)
Luckily they didn't do it in Singapore, a FEDEX pilot got a month in jail for leaving his hotel.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-dugan-yeargan
Harsh but fair, break the rules and suffer the consequences, straya........

josephfeatherweight 15th Nov 2020 03:39
This is pretty disappointing behavior - on the whole, aircrew have been granted pretty minimalistic restrictions for interstate and international travel. It only takes a few turkeys to upset what are sensible and reasonable arrangements to allow continued air travel.

Australopithecus 15th Nov 2020 04:01
This kind of thing makes my blood boil. I simply do not understand why governments expect persons in exempt categories to do the right thing when that trait is far from common. Howard Springs should be a mandatory inbound quarantine for every entrant regardless of rank or title.

On another note...I will be in mandatory isolation next week after returning from MEL. I cannot leave home, where my vulnerable family reside, except to go to and from the airport, where I am free to infect all and sundry. Crossroads of the modern world, and all of that. Other operators can go to SYD or MEL and not have to isolate at all.

Either there is a risk, or there isn’t.*

* I realise that after 20 days of no cases the risk at MEL is very very small, but this procedure has been in place throughout the second wave.

compressor stall 15th Nov 2020 05:19
IF they have breached their quarantine directions as reported.....

then if anyone knows or meets them, please give them a right upper cut from me. And if they are still standing, another one.

As we move towards zero nationwide, the states are tightening up on things for those of us still (lucky enough) to be still flying internationally. Having spend 4 months in aircrew quarantine this year due to overseas flights, I've managed to get it done in either apartments (if interstate) or at home. Due to &^%$knuckles like these Canadians and an asian aircrew a couple of months ago, the opportunities for aircrew to quarantine in a nice one bedroom apartment or at home have already been rescinded in a couple of states (e.g. Holiday Inn only for Aussies returning as international aircrew into Perth). I think it will be worse from now on.

F$^%^$rs.:mad::mad:

Global Aviator 15th Nov 2020 05:42
CS yep and I think a left and right hook from me.

The ‘free’ world is far to soft, make an example early and people will get the picture. As you said all it takes is a few clowns!

The private / corporate aviation sector is not talked about much, however things like this can and will have huge implications.

compressor stall 15th Nov 2020 05:45
Originally Posted by Australopithecus (Post 10926801)
Howard Springs should be a mandatory inbound quarantine for every entrant regardless of rank or title.
.
Do you have any understanding of what that means to Aussie pilots flying internationally?

Edit: Maybe I should explain...

Do you understand that that would mean living almost each day of your life in isolation? You'd fly a tour for a week overseas - and when you're overseas you are in hotel lockdown (or if not you're likely in a country where you don't want to leave the hotel room anyway, nor should you under the terms of the AirCrew exemption) and then you come back to 2 weeks hotel isolated quarantine, which is longer your time off. Then you go to work again. Repeat.

Now do you see the problem? A life never seeing the sun (except maybe between the airport and the taxi). Or anyone else for that matter besides the co-pilot and the ground staff. Health implications - DVT, sanity?

flightleader 15th Nov 2020 05:57
Are they on some sorts of working visa？ If yes, would this quarantine breach result in they visas to be cancelled? I might have been watching too much Border Security.

josephfeatherweight 15th Nov 2020 07:19
Howard Springs should be a mandatory inbound quarantine for every entrant regardless of rank or title.
Yeah, nah, I don't agree with that - the current federal regs allow "self quarantine" (at own home or company/self provided accomm) for aircrew arriving from overseas - this in itself poses some issues, particularly for those that reside at home with partners/children attending work/school. But this "allowance" is in place to avoid air travel grinding to halt completely. It relies on the individuals doing the right thing. Which these Canadians appear not to have done...

Dogma 15th Nov 2020 07:33
:ugh: Sums up Australia... they love rules and barracking those who break them..


josephfeatherweight 15th Nov 2020 08:18
Originally Posted by Dogma (Post 10926853)
:ugh: Sums up Australia... they love rules and barracking those who break them..
I wouldn't say that, but then we do have one of the lowest COVID infection rates of any country in the world.
Dogma, is your location correct? MAN = Manchester, UK?? Did the UK have 26,860 new COVID cases on the 15 Nov in the UK?
Australia (that loves rules) had 14.

CessNah 15th Nov 2020 12:33
I take it people down under are still acting all hysterical about this virus then...

atakacs 15th Nov 2020 13:00
I take it people down under are still acting all hysterical about this virus then...
It would indeed seems so. I guess there won't be much international travel in or out (or for that matter, within) Australia in the next decade.

blubak 15th Nov 2020 18:54
Originally Posted by Dogma (Post 10926853)
:ugh: Sums up Australia... they love rules and barracking those who break them..
Nobody forces anyone to live here,you are free to go & live in whatever country that has rules that suit you or a country with no rules if you can find 1.

havick 15th Nov 2020 20:42
Originally Posted by blubak (Post 10927286)
Nobody forces anyone to live here,you are free to go & live in whatever country that has rules that suit you or a country with no rules if you can find 1.
Immigration laws in most countries would most likely counter that argument.

Progress Wanchai 15th Nov 2020 20:44
Originally Posted by josephfeatherweight (Post 10926879)
I wouldn't say that, but then we do have one of the lowest COVID infection rates of any country in the world.
Dogma, is your location correct? MAN = Manchester, UK?? Did the UK have 26,860 new COVID cases on the 15 Nov in the UK?
Australia (that loves rules) had 14.
What were these two canucks doing here again?
Oh, that’s right, fighting bushfires in the worlds biggest carbon polluting nation per capita. A nation that has largely turned its back on international norms regarding emissions.

I keep getting confused. What’s the greatest overreaction in modern times? Climate change or COVID?
Australia. The nanny state when it suits, the Wild West when it doesn’t. Either way, don’t expect too many to respect its “rules”.

C441 15th Nov 2020 20:53
Do you understand that that would mean living almost each day of your life in isolation? You'd fly a tour for a week overseas - and when you're overseas you are in hotel lockdown (or if not you're likely in a country where you don't want to leave the hotel room anyway, nor should you under the terms of the AirCrew exemption) and then you come back to 2 weeks hotel isolated quarantine, which is longer your time off. Then you go to work again. Repeat.
Sounds like having July to October in Melbourne……but your sentiment is correct. Qantas have a bunch of S/Os who are beginning to wonder if being back at work virtually full time is worth the isolation.

KRviator 15th Nov 2020 21:24
Originally Posted by compressor stall (Post 10926816)
Do you have any understanding of what that means to Aussie pilots flying internationally?

Edit: Maybe I should explain...

Do you understand that that would mean living almost each day of your life in isolation? You'd fly a tour for a week overseas - and when you're overseas you are in hotel lockdown (or if not you're likely in a country where you don't want to leave the hotel room anyway, nor should you under the terms of the AirCrew exemption) and then you come back to 2 weeks hotel isolated quarantine, which is longer your time off. Then you go to work again. Repeat.

Now do you see the problem? A life never seeing the sun (except maybe between the airport and the taxi). Or anyone else for that matter besides the co-pilot and the ground staff. Health implications - DVT, sanity?
So what makes aircrew so special in that regard? There are, literally, dozens of my colleagues in that exact same boat. And that's just the rail guys, not even counting the plant or production operators. They live on the East coast, NZ or elsewhere but work in the Pilbara, and up until Mark McGoose opened the border sans quarantine to "low risk" states, they had to quarantine for 2 weeks every time they went to work, or, spend their off-duty time on-site in a donga, or in a hotel in Perth, held captive by the state and spend months away from their families. And these are the people McGowan is crowing about that are "Keeping our state economy going!" Yessiree! that's great for their physical and mental health, and that of their family. Nothing to see here, moving on....

If Pilots of all people, cannot abide by a reasonable quarantine direction to sit and stay in your hotel for 2 weeks, then yes, they should be forced to undergo mandatory quarantine at a location of the Governments choosing. They've been given a great deal of leeway in order to keep transportation lines open, and some - by no means all, or even the majority - are showing they can't be trusted to do the right thing. If Governments' won't trust the great unwashed to do the right thing, why should Pilots get special treatment when they've proven they won't either?

Capt Fathom 15th Nov 2020 21:48
Originally Posted by KRviator (Post 10927365)
If Governments' won't trust the great unwashed to do the right thing, why should Pilots get special treatment when they've proven they won't either?
Two pilots from Canada didn't do the right thing! I'd hardly call that a large number of pilots.

J.O. 15th Nov 2020 21:59
Originally Posted by morno (Post 10926770)
Ahhh yes, because it would be extremely quick and easy to train up Australian pilots to learn to water bomb a fire from a Dash 8 (assuming that it’s that particular aircraft in question) :rolleyes:
It’s not. That aircraft is in QLD.

KRviator 15th Nov 2020 22:42
Originally Posted by Capt Fathom (Post 10927372)
Two pilots from Canada didn't do the right thing! I'd hardly call that a large number of pilots.
I didn't say it was a large number, but it isn't just two Canadian pilots. It is the FedEx pilot who was (rightfully) jailed in Singapore, it is the ME crew who left quarantine in NZ to go to the pub, and I'm sure there's many more besides...But it has happened, more than once and in more than one location. If pilots (not all, and as I said, not even the majority) are happy to willingly to break the quarantine rules, then they should be treated like everyone else and not extended the courtesy (and trust) of self-isolating - particularly in Australia at present!

Pearly White 16th Nov 2020 02:15
Originally Posted by CessNah (Post 10927080)
I take it people down under are still acting all hysterical about this virus then...
Isn't England back in lockdown again with their second wave?
And hasn't Boris just been advised to isolate - again?

compressor stall 16th Nov 2020 05:53
Originally Posted by KRviator (Post 10927365)
So what makes aircrew so special in that regard? There are, literally, dozens of my colleagues in that exact same boat. And that's just the rail guys, not even counting the plant or production operators. They live on the East coast, NZ or elsewhere but work in the Pilbara, and up until Mark McGoose opened the border sans quarantine to "low risk" states, they had to quarantine for 2 weeks every time they went to work, or, spend their off-duty time on-site in a donga, or in a hotel in Perth, held captive by the state
pilots are not special per se. The difference is that your FIFO guys at least leave quarantine after 14 days and can live and work normally in that state. No they can’t go home without having to come back and repeat but if they don’t at least they can live in WA as a free person. No it’s not great but a very different beast to being continuously in hotel quarantine as you move from country to country and never being able to leave which is basically what was being proposed

My argument wasn’t about foreign crews anyway. More about Aussie crews flying internationally and returning.

BDAttitude 16th Nov 2020 07:14
Varnish of civilization is thin.
I'd rather go home. [Enter blood hound gang quote here]

ScepticalOptomist 16th Nov 2020 07:28
We are a nanny state, and we overreact to pretty much everything these days, CV19 included.

Locking down / mandatory hotel quarantine for handfuls of cases is so beyond ludicrous, it’s frankly not even funny anymore.

Meant to be one country - instead we act like all the states are independent nations - pathetic really.

olster 16th Nov 2020 08:44
I agree sceptic. The comments on here all apparently endorse draconian punishment for a couple of pilots who probably popped out for a couple of well deserved beers. The ridiculous over reaction to this bug continues apace. My friend still flies for the ME largest airline and when night stopping away is compelled to stay in a hotel room, virtually as a prisoner. The mental health issues and implications are enormous. Previously when returning to Dubai he had to isolate in a hotel room for 2 weeks. The deprivation of basic civil liberties has far more sinister overtones than the disease itself. Ironically the fire fighting Canadians would be hailed as heroic if they had not succumbed to that most basic human right, socialising with another human. Crazy stuff.

J.O. 16th Nov 2020 14:37
Assuming that their employer informed them of the contractual obligation for two weeks of isolation on arrival, then if they didn't intend to comply with those requirements, they should not have accepted the assignment. By flouting the rules, they've not only put a stain on themselves and their company, they've stained every other foreign aircrew member who's turned up to help Australia manage the wildfire situation. Every one of them has been asked to do the same isolation on arrival, regardless of the state in which they're working. The only "crazy stuff" here is the selfishness of these two people.

Bratfgee 16th Nov 2020 15:49
Originally Posted by morno (Post 10926770)
Ahhh yes, because it would be extremely quick and easy to train up Australian pilots to learn to water bomb a fire from a Dash 8 (assuming that it’s that particular aircraft in question) :rolleyes:
The pilots were not the crews of the Dash 8 in Queensland nor the RJ85 in NSW.

Klimax 16th Nov 2020 18:00
Hopefully the won't have to go back to Australia. They can be free from that - prob what the were aiming at - a way to escape prison.

Dogma 16th Nov 2020 21:43
Originally Posted by ScepticalOptomist (Post 10927533)
We are a nanny state, and we overreact to pretty much everything these days, CV19 included.

Locking down / mandatory hotel quarantine for handfuls of cases is so beyond ludicrous, it’s frankly not even funny anymore.

Meant to be one country - instead we act like all the states are independent nations - pathetic really.
Yup ... these effing Politicians are all at it. Want a sanitised version of Big Tech gulags. Just wait until you refuse to have a knocked up Covid vaccination.. Gulag near Rockhampton for you

halfmoon 17th Nov 2020 03:57
But politicians and famous people are exempt from quarantine. Yes, home isolation for the select few.

White Knight 18th Nov 2020 01:30
Originally Posted by Pearly White
Quote:
Originally Posted by CessNah View Post
I take it people down under are still acting all hysterical about this virus then...
Isn't England back in lockdown again with their second wave?
And hasn't Boris just been advised to isolate - again?
Yep, and it's still hysteria!!! The death rate is now so low that Covid has barely been making number ten in the 'reason for dying' list in England. But heh, lets scare people away from hospitals because of Covid and let them die of undiagnosed cancers and heart disease and so on...

Eclan 24th Nov 2020 12:53
Originally Posted by blubak (Post 10927286)
Nobody forces anyone to live here,you are free to go & live in whatever country that has rules that suit you or a country with no rules if you can find 1.
Actually they do force you. You're not free to leave and "go & live in whatever country" at all. Us and North Korea. ScoMo won't let anyone leave the country without a very good reason, and if you apply and are knocked back your name goes on a watchlist with the ABF. Just like Wun Wing Lo or whatever his name is, the Supreme Leader. I can't believe aussies put up with this crap.

I couldn't give a rat's if those guys left their hotel. Big deal. The probably went to the "ballet" thinking they could have fun amongst the "laidback" aussies, not knowing that the breed is extinct and replaced by chicken-little, rule-loving wowsers. Honestly, the hysteria over this and C19 in general is stomach-turning.

Straya.

Misty4964 1st Dec 2020 05:47
Misty4964
 
Most likely the crew of this Helicopter...... SIKORSKY S61 C-FIZA passed through the NT on Monday 23.11.20.
Sighted it on the ground fairly close as a remote ARO.


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