The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is extending safety management system (SMS) requirements to charter airlines, commuter airlines, air tour operators, and some aircraft manufacturers.
Some operators and manufacturers already have implemented an SMS, which has been required since 2018 for U.S. airlines. The FAA said the new rule, published April 26 in the Federal Register, gives affected operators and manufacturers from one to three years to implement an SMS.
“SMS provides a means for a structured, repeatable, systematic approach to proactively identify hazards and manage safety risk,” the FAA said. “By incorporating SMS, these aviation organizations will be better able to develop and implement mitigations that are appropriate to their specific environment and operations.”
The FAA said the rule requires those with an SMS to share hazard information with others “so they can work collaboratively to identify and address potential safety iss…
