Safety management systems (SMSs) within airlines and maintenance and repair organizations (MROs) have advanced rapidly in the past decade. Conceived by the International Civil Aviation Organization and gradually being put into practice through regulation by national aviation authorities, SMSs soon will be required for airlines around the world. For example, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates that all U.S. commercial airlines (Part 121) implement an SMS by Jan. 8, 2018. One major component of an SMS is risk management, which requires that hazards to safety of flight be identified and assessed for risk, and that unacceptable risk be mitigated to acceptable levels.
International guidance for SMS design recommends three approaches in identifying safety hazards: a reactive approach (the investigation of accidents, incidents and events); a proactive approach (the active identification of safety hazards through the analysis of the organization’s activities, using too…
