“And Air N.Z. and Capt.  Gemmell released to you the material which
     you’d previously sought....  Correct”.

Concerning all this evidence the Commissioner expressed the following conclusions in paragraph 348: 

“Captain Eden is at present the director of flight operations for the airline.  He appeared in the witness box to be a strong-minded and aggressive official.  It seemed clear from this further production of First Officer Rhodes as a witness that it had been suggested to him by Captain Eden that he should either make a direct allegation against Captain Gemmell or else make no allegation at all, and that since First Officer Rhodes seemed to have no direct evidence in his possession, he was therefore obliged to give the answer which Captain Eden had either suggested or directed.  However, First Officer Rhodes was not entirely intimidated because as will be observed from the evidence just quoted, he insisted on saying that Captain Gemmell had brought an envelope containing documents back to Auckland.”

Those statements are in no way related to the assessment of Captain Eden’s evidence or as Captain Eden as a witness.  They are observations that Captain Eden had attempted to influence or direct the evidence to be given by First Officer Rhodes by a process of intimidation.  Counsel for First Officer Rhodes’ own association had made no suggestion to that effect.  Nor is there any hint by First Officer Rhodes himself that he was present as anything but a voluntary witness.  The answer he gave to the opening question would not seem to support suspicions of intimidation.  And that answer is itself followed by quite a generous tribute to Captain Gemmell.  But the reputation of Captain Eden and the support given Captain Gemmell is dismissed by a finding of intimidation.  It should be said as well that although Captain Eden himself appeared to give evidence three days later not a word was said to him by anybody to suggest that earlier he had been guilty of attempting to intimidate a witness.

Specific documents

To the extent that the Royal Commission Report has pointed to any particular classes of documentary material that did not reach the Inquiry the list is not a long one.  It comprises—­

     1.  Unidentified papers within the blue envelope—­No complaint about
     this was ever made by Mr Chippindale as we have mentioned.

2.  Papers given to First Officer Cassin as briefing material—­It has been explained that if any complaint could be made about this matter it would affect Captain Crosbie, the unnamed “employee of the airline” referred to in paragraph 52.  It was he who went to the Cassin home for compassionate reasons as the spokesman for the Airline Pilots Association.  He denies ever receiving the material.  Even if he had, the Report has not challenged the conduct of any of the line pilots.  This matter would