Is it common practice for commercial pilots to see a private doctor secretly if they want treatment for a condition which could threaten their flight status? I'm told this was typical in the RAF in the '80s. A good friend of mine who was a Phantom instructor told me he had gone to Harley Street to get his varicose veins fixed. He said 'everybody does it.' I would think that if a commercial pilot needed help with depression he would be tempted to get a private prescription on the quiet. In a terrible case like this one when the co-pilot's remains may not yield blood for testing, how will we ever know what medication he was taking?