Sir - The leader "No-gain pain" (Flight International, 16-22 October) made interesting reading. Protecting the identities of those accused under confidential-reporting systems is important.
Not all systems protect the identity of the accused. I attended a tribunal in Sydney, Australia, where a pilot had been trying to get back his licence, suspended as a result of a CAIR report more than two years earlier. The Australian regulator has the power to suspend any pilot's licence at any time.
Two years later, this pilot is out of work, having not been charged with any offence.
The concept of confidential incident reporting is good, but it is important that adequate safeguards are put in place to prevent the system being used to "settle scores" and the like.
What is also important is that the accused should be afforded at least as much anonymity as the accuser.
BOYD MUNRO
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia
Balmain, Australia
Source: Flight International
