@jcj:
No - "independent" in this case means that the investigating organisation is independent from the regulator and other government agencies, nothing more. The most infamous example of where this became a necessity was following the DC-10 case in the 1970s, where the FAA kept the NTSB at arms' length in favour of the "Gentlemens' Agreement".
Even a nominally independent accident investigation agency does not have the remit to begin an investigation of it's own volition.
Last edited by DozyWannabe; 2nd Jul 2013 at 23:19.