FAA Orders Expansion of SMS
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a final rule that will require most of the country’s commercial airlines to implement safety management systems (SMS) by 2018.
The rule sets out a timetable for SMS adoption, beginning with a requirement for airlines to submit implementation plans to the FAA within six months and to inaugurate the systems by 2018.
“An SMS defines what is expected rather than how the requirement is to be met,” the FAA said when it issued the final rule in January. “This allows each air carrier to design an SMS to match the size, complexity and business model of its organization.”
The agency emphasized that SMS — which builds on many safety programs already used by the airlines — is designed to supplement FAA oversight, inspections and audits and not to replace them.
Many U.S. airlines already have implemented SMS, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said.
The requir…
