@WillowRun 6-3:
The NTSB is a nominally independent organisation whose charter specifies that its investigatory authority is seconded to and beholden to no other organisation. In this aspect it is quite unusual in that while - to give a few examples - the BEA of France, AAIB of the UK, BFU of Germany and ATSB of Australia are equally independent, they are still branches of the civil service and as such they must restrict their reportage to facts and cannot directly apportion responsibility.
However what the NTSB does have in common with those agencies is that their remit extends only to recommendations which the regulator has final say over the decision to enforce. The FAA and Congress have no power to influence the NTSB's findings (just as the DGAC and French government have no such power over the BEA), but the regulators are not compelled to act on the recommendations. That said, the recommendations are ignored at their peril (Google "DC-10 Gentlemens Agreement" for an example of why).
I heartily recommend doing some research on the subject - the history is fascinating.
Last edited by DozyWannabe; 16th July 2013 at 23:39.