Rescue helicopter pilot unable to hover sacked unfairly, FWC rules

The Westpac rescue helicopter service has been ordered to reinstate a pilot who was sacked for being unable to perform a key manoeuvre.

A helicopter rescue service has been ordered to reinstate a pilot who was sacked because she could not master a key manoeuvre required to carry out difficult rescue operations.

The northern NSW Westpac Rescue Helicopter service employed Susana Henderson, knowing she did not have experience on AW139 aircraft.

A former Australian Army pilot, Ms Henderson was hired by the rescue service ahead of another pilot with AW139 experience, in October 2021.

It was agreed she would undergo training on the helicopter, described as a “modern glass cockpit helicopter with an advanced autopilot and flight management system”.

According to the Fair Work Commission, the “training took longer than anticipated” and when Ms Henderson arrived for her final assessment on March 2, 2022, she was told it would not proceed because she had not met company standards in all areas of her training.

A show cause process then took place, and the rescue service took the decision to sack her due to concerns about her ability to “accurately position the AW139 aircraft and maintain a stable hover on a consistent basis”.

Ms Henderson was given severance pay, but then took legal action claiming her dismissal was “harsh, unjust and unreasonable”.

The Commission heard Ms Henderson’s training had been ad hoc due to various factors, but she eventually amassed over 60-hours in the AW139.

However, the head of flight operations Robert Fisher reported in January 2022 that Ms Henderson “demonstrated a clear lack of ability to consistently meet the service’s standard for winching, hovering and low level operations of the aircraft”.

The Westpac rescue helicopter service has been ordered to reinstate a pilot who was sacked for being unable to perform a key manoeuvre. Picture: Mark Stewart

In the coming months, Ms Henderson continued her simulator training and, during the Lismore floods, conducted multiple flights transporting critical equipment and people in “extremely challenging conditions”.

Concerns about her ability to maintain a stable hover ultimately led to her termination, but Ms Henderson argued she was never warned performance issues could affect her ongoing employment.

In a lengthy decision, Fair Work Commission deputy president Tony Saunders ruled it was unreasonable for the helicopter service to sack Ms Henderson rather than provide her with further training.

“I have found on the balance of probabilities that it is likely that Ms Henderson would have met the standard required if she had been provided with a further period of training of about two weeks,” said Mr Saunders.

He also ruled the helicopter rescue service should reinstate her to the position of AW139 pilot, despite their objections.

“I am satisfied that a sufficient level of trust and confidence can be restored to make an employment relationship between Ms Henderson and the (rescue service) viable and productive,” Mr Saunders said.

He ruled against forcing the helicopter service to provide backpay due to the fact they had already spent $169,000 on her training, which was “$58,100 more than initially budgeted”.

The Westpac Rescue Service has been contacted for comment.

The decision comes months after the FWC ruled Virgin Australia’s sacking of a flight attendant, who went to sleep on the job and watched movies during flights, was unfair.

That ruling was overturned on appeal to the full bench of the Commission.