They are still operating. All the pilots that left have been replaced and all of those new pilots are looking for work elsewhere already. The cycle won’t stop until the owner comes to terms with the fact that they are everything that’s wrong with GA. They preach safety yet that’s at the bottom of the priority list for that AOC. It’s sad to see.
Unfortunately not all the pilots who quit have found other work and one appears to have had it held against them at a Qlink assessment and was subsequently unsuccessful.

CASA, AFAP and the ATSB are legally negligent allowing this AOC to continue to operate. Numerous Safety and REPCON reports have been submitted in the past 6 months with a blind eye turned everytime. AFAP are unwilling to help with unpaid super, below award pay and conditions....

Stay away from this AOC.

Because they are not union members? Fair enough.

If there are under award payments, take it to fairwork.

So, quit the operator and got an interview a few days later? Yeah, righto

Slander, BS and innuendo. I don't know anything about this incident and I suspect you don't either.

This is true, I know for a fact they have been taking off and landing before and after last light without the use of runway lights, often in Day VFR only aircraft. This has been reported to CASA more than once and no action taken despite it being clear that the company, their current CP included, is deliberately doing this.

Although small, it's simply the tip of the iceberg for deliberate and unsafe acts that have had a blind eye turned to them by CASA at this operation.

Wouldn't be the first time they've under payed employees. Also wouldn't be the first time the operator has burnt a pilot at a Qlink interview.

I'm guessing you work for the said AOC. I know everything mate. Including the events that triggered said incident, so unless you want me to post about the proposal all over here, get back in you box with your few hundred hours and STFU.

Let’s see: It takes two to tango. The Idiot checking the oil failed to notice the idiot at the controls. The idiot at the controls failed to notice the idiot checking the oil. Such is life. Another idiot has his knickers in a knot over the said incident.

So, gossip runs amok. And yep, I work for them, I need the hours 😂

i think you can safely say that this company does not run anything as big as a Metro.

Although as I have no idea who they are I could be wrong!

What happened? Let me tell you what happened…

Five pilots forgot where they were, how lucky they were to be there and who put them there.

The GA apron is a busy a place, and if you don’t keep your head on a swivel, of course you’re going to find yourself in a hazardous situation.
There’s a reason for the BRIGHT RED flashing light on the tail of EVERY aircraft. If you don’t know that then you’re not ready for GA.

I can personally vouch that ‘the operator’ is an upstanding member of the aviation community and has been for decades. You’re telling me the most qualified and utilised instructor in the territory can’t run some 210s and Airvans safely? Just ask that interviewee how much regard qantas has for ‘the operator’s’ opinion 😉

As for the borderline slander levelled against a great man doing honest work, you should probably check your facts and have a read of a little book called the AIP.

I can’t believe I’m explaining this… All light aircraft have an MTOW, but it’s well known there’s an in-built engineering tolerance. Throwing a few extra bags in the pod has never brought down an aircraft and it never will. What will bring down an airplane is pilots spending all their time complaining about not getting a sleep in as opposed to studying their POH and knowing their aircraft.

As for the last-light accusation, get your facts straight. Jabiru Airport has runway lighting! I’d rather ensure my customers (who pay a lot of money for these flights) get a quality sunset scenic than worry about the trivial number of degrees the sun is below the horizon. As long as you plan to be in the circuit 10 mins prior to LL, you’re golden. The AIP doesn’t say anything about operational requirements occurring in flight.

I’ve been following some threads here and seeing what those cowardly insta meme pages spurt out. I think I speak for the quiet majority when I say GA is about making money. It’s not about taking selfies on ‘Frothy Friday’. Flying $300,000+ machines is a privilege. If you can’t get you’re head around that, go be a grade 3 at some Sydney sausage factory.

Get used to seeing this account more, because I’m here to raise the standards and speak up against the daffodils who bring this forum (and industry) down…

A bit rich vouching for that operator, when you are that operator. Talk about narcissism.

Most qualified, I'll admit is true. Most utilised, definitely not. Plus I wouldn't consider someone that encourages employees to bend or break the rules an upstanding member of the aviation community.

Funny, you preach safety and how there are built in margins, then go on the use those margins. They are there to stop people like you from killing their poor pilots. I'm sure even if those margins weren't there you'd still have the same attitude, an extra 50kg can't hurt, until one day it does. The problem isn't being a tiny bit above the max weight, the problem is the deliberate erosion of safety margins. The fact you are even remotely trying to defend the notion of taking off over MTOW only goes to show how willing your organisation accepts such a reckless act.

Yes, Jabiru has lights, but they have to be activated by the ARO, who certainly would not be activating them for some scenics to land after last light, or for you to take off before first light😉 Prove me wrong. Like you said, they have to plan to land 10min before last light except they haven't, but that's okay, just change the numbers on paper like they always do; duty, flight time, MTOW/MLW, etc.

To fly the planes is a privilege I agree, but the expectation that a worker who has already spent $80K+ on training and is now getting paid the minimum possible wage to work 12+ hours a day (but only get paid 7.6) should be absolutely grateful for the employer is ridiculous. Yes they get hours and a little bit of money, but you also make money and a lot more of it after taking the financial risk, it's a fair exchange. After all you need pilots for your business to run, you're not doing charity work, so you shouldn't see yourself as some kind of GA messiah. Not to mention they risk their lives anytime you're near a prop🤣

I'm glad those guys walked out on you, it's goes to show they're human beings and should be treated accordingly, not abused and used to take out your anger from personal problems on. In fact, why don't you share how that person problem arose?

I just wanted to quote this literary masterpiece before it’s deleted.

Those red beacons that EVERY aircraft have, aren’t on every aircraft! Oh and to suggest that MTOW is a soft limit is quite alarming on many fronts!

Oh boy there's some stuff to unpack here.

Pilots aren't "lucky" to be employed, nor should they have to grovel at the feet of the greatest man who has ever graced Australian aviation. They're doing a job, they deserve a safe workplace and when they weren't getting it they quit.

I do appreciate the MTOW plus a bit more "engineering tolerance".

Honestly the koolaid over at Mistar must be crazy, cubs coming out to defend their papa bear.

i agree the apron is a busy place and you have to keep your wits about you.
Just curious if a pilot is checking the oil how is it that someone can allegedly try and start the engine at the same time? What circumstance exists that makes this the right and SAFE thing to do?

i have only been flying for 30ish years but I always thought the MTOW was not negotiable?
I guess I’ve been incorrect in that assumption.

How can someone who allegedly believes MTOW and last light are not ironclad rules be regarded as a “fit and proper person” to hold an AOC? CASA? CASA??

Until Soaring Cub’s rant, most of us not resident in the NT had no clue who the operator is. Probably CASA didn’t either. So claims of ‘slander’ (btw, once in print it becomes ‘libel’) were baseless. Now we all know.
As for admitting to flying over weight or after last light - wait until there is an incident. Loss of pilot licence and denial of insurance claim will be the least of your worries, especially if someone gets hurt.

Me thinks Soaring Cub's post might be a wind up and they're not who they claim to be.

Could be, in which case well played. A neat way to identify the operator without actually naming him.

Either way it has livened up the thread a bit!

Not having been to Jabiru for many years, how many operators are based there these days?

On second read, well played Soaring Club. :D

Been a while since there was a good popcorn thread here! :D