Just to clarify. I was not at all insinuating that the Aussie philosophy was wrong or that "You can't plan for everything" is an adequate excuse for lack of preparedness.

Like the OP said, ADM starts well before the flight is conducted. I did not mean that it should be used in lieu of preparation or discipline.

However, I think the promotion of ADM in the US is also due to the fact that we have a more vibrant GA community than most countries. Weekend warriors, no matter how prepared, do not have all the tools that an Airline Pilot would in terms of knowledge, procedures, standardization, equipment etc.

Also, PLANNING involves decision making. I don't know that any airline has a standardized procedure for making a go/no-go decision, planning a route, or the other ton of decisions a pilot must make. In the air, there's little guidance on decisions like; can I accept that ATC instruction? Should I go to the bathroom now, or wait until on the ground? etc. Decisions are a major component of the planning process, no matter how in advance the planning is made. We should always strive for standardization, but we will never be 100% standardized.

Lastly, although we should all strive to become the most knowledgeable, disciplined and prepared pilots we can possibly be, no, we cannot plan for everything. Ask NASA about Apollo 13.