Tim Epstein wrote:

"The commander did not submit any reports about the incident. The co-pilot
reported the incident using both the confidential 'National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) Aviation Safety Reporting System and the
confidential 'Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). The flight engineer
submitted a NASA report."

There it is, plainly for all to see (including the flight commander) of
exactly who reported what to whom in a 'confidential' manner.

Perhaps the pilots and engineer told the board they filed those reports.

Surely this makes a mockery of the whole concept of confidentialy and
undermines the entire programme?

If you want to use filing one of these reports as a "get out of jail" card,
there has to be some means of proving that you filed one. The confidentiality
part works in the opposite direction. The FAA enforcement department cannot find
out who filed a particular report; hence, they cannot use what's in the report
as evidence. They *can* find out whether or not you filed one, but they can't
find out what report you filed.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.