SMS for Airlines
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed requiring most commercial airlines to establish a safety management system (SMS) to “give operators a set of business processes and management tools to examine data from everyday operations, isolate trends that may be precursors to incidents or accidents, and develop and carry out appropriate risk-mitigation strategies.”
The new notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) follows a previous NPRM to require FAA-certified airports to establish an SMS for airfield and ramp areas.
“We need a holistic approach to safety that allows us to spot trends in aviation and make necessary changes to help avoid incidents and accidents,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “Safety management systems are a critical piece of a successful safety culture.”
The NPRM would give scheduled air carriers operating under U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations Part 121 three years to implement an SMS. The FAA emphasi…
