Begun in the 1990s and endorsed by the FAA, Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP)s, are cooperative programs that let aviation professionals self-report problems they have encountered so the lessons can be shared with everyone else. Essentially, they encourage airline personnel, pilots included, to voluntary report issues so they may be dealt with absent the fear of punishment, before they result in crashes or other incidents.

Thanks to deteriorating labor-management relations, several airlines' pilot's associations, including American, Delta, and Comair (http://www.faa.gov/safety/programs_initiatives/aircraft_aviation/asap/media/asap_participants.pdf) have opted out of these safety programs.

Until more rational minds can prevail to re-enact this program and its protections for all personnel, thus ensuring a further measure of safety, we vow to whenever possible seek alternate carriers to those not actively and holistically supporting this program.