If we believe the FAA has been captured by industry, do we trust the outcome of their investigation to be impartial? Do we trust their investigation to be at all competent?
Correction: US accident investigations are conducted by the NTSB, not the FAA. By design, it's not even part of the DOT, the parent org of the FAA.
From their Wikipedia entry—
"From 1967 to 1975, the NTSB reported to the DOT for administrative purposes, while conducting investigations into the Federal Aviation Administration, also a DOT agency.
To avoid any conflict, Congress passed the Independent Safety Board Act, and on April 1, 1975, the NTSB became a fully independent agency."
Correction: US accident investigations are conducted by the NTSB, not the FAA. By design, it's not even part of the DOT, the parent org of the FAA.
From their Wikipedia entry—
"From 1967 to 1975, the NTSB reported to the DOT for administrative purposes, while conducting investigations into the Federal Aviation Administration, also a DOT agency.
To avoid any conflict, Congress passed the Independent Safety Board Act, and on April 1, 1975, the NTSB became a fully independent agency."