boofhead - You are right that ASAP is not and should not be a get out of jail card. But without it the FAA can still take certificate action for unintended actions and genuine mistakes. The continuing FAA attitude is very unproductive and unfair and totally against best practice.
tbavprof - you are 100% wrong. What is happening in Singapore is seperating the activity (running an airport) from the regulator. This is a GOOD thing as it makes the regulator independent.
Nick NOTOC and Roadtrip - I agree US aviation managers often show poor leadership - which results in a poor culture.
Nick NOTOC - the need to rely totally on a confidential reporting system is really a sign of a bad culture - it is simply a work around. They are fine if they are designed to cope with just a small percentage of reports.
PJ2 - The structure you suggest is what all airlines should have but too many Directors of Ops fear being made to look bad rather than welcoming the benefit. It is also the way to foster open rather than confidential reporting.
There is a very good and popular article on SMS and going beyond the system to get a culture of safety here:
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