simondlh
Poor bloke, surely he should get his costs back from the CASA.
If this had happened in the UK, he would have been reimbursed expenses reasonably and properly incurred in defending the proceedings. (The payment is usually made from 'central funds'; in exceptional circumstances, a court may order the prosecuting body to pay.)
Epiphany
This 'unfortunate' Cairns pilot should consider himself lucky.
Lucky?
According to the press report -
The prosecutor couldn't find a single expert who considered what the pilot did was reckless or low flying or an aerobatic manoeuvre or any other offence. Whether or not that was the reason or only reason, the prosecution eventually withdrew all the charges. It's highly unlikely they would have done so if they had evidence to support their allegations.
It's cost the pilot 50,000 Aus dollars (almost £31,000) to defend himself against the allegations, he's lost his job and he will inevitably suffer damage to his professional reputation despite being acquitted of all charges (as your post illustrates).
That's the sort of 'luck' most people would prefer not to have.