Name suppression extended for ex-Air Nelson pilot

The fight to keep his name secret continues for a former Air Nelson pilot who was sacked for having sex with a teenage flight attendant and drinking excessively before a flight.

The pilot has interim name suppression which was due to lapse yesterday.

But the Employment Court's Chief Judge, Graeme Colgan, extended it until October 15.

The pilot has already made three applications to stop the publication of his name – to the Employment Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court – all of which have been dismissed.

He appeared before the Employment Court in Auckland last month to try to overturn his sacking after a drinking and sex session during an unscheduled stopover in Napier in 2008.

Employment Court Judge Mark Perkins reserved his decision on whether the pilot should get his job back or be compensated. The court heard the pilot had invited a flight attendant to his room, where they had sex.

The woman claimed the sex was not consensual, but he argued she had initiated it.

Chief Judge Colgan said trial judge Mark Perkins, who is on leave, needed to make decisions on the matter.

- © Fairfax NZ News