Affected Operators Should Act Now on Expanded SMS Mandate

Per the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule expanding safety management systems (SMS) to Part 135 on-demand operators, certain Part 21 certificate holders and 91.147 air tour operations may pose challenges to business aircraft operators as they work to adapt the rule’s requirements to their specific operations.

The 160-page final rule, effective May 28, applies the FAA’s existing Federal Aviation Regulations Part 5 SMS requirements, currently mandated for Part 121 commercial airlines, to nearly 1,850 Part 135 operators and more than 700 air tour providers. Affected operators will have until May 28, 2027, to submit a declaration of compliance to the FAA saying they have met the new rule’s requirements.

The new rule includes most of the criteria advocated by NBAA and other industry stakeholders “over many, many years,” according to Doug Carr, NBAA senior vice president, safety, security, sustainability and international affairs. However, Carr also noted that work remains to be done to ensure the rule’s smooth implementation for types of operations.

“We’re now at a stage where we have an opportunity to really dive into SMS as a formal component of what Part 135 on-demand operations and air tours have in terms of a baseline requirement,” Carr said in an April 25 NBAA News Hour webinar detailing the rule’s requirements.

Those with an existing SMS may only need to adapt the FAA language from the final rule, added Gil Lopez, Certified Aviation Manager (CAM), vice president of operations at Leviate Air Group. Operators just starting on SMS implementation may face more difficulties.

“If you don’t have an SMS, there is no out-of-the-box solution,” Lopez said. “Get educated [and] become more comfortable with the idea of the process.”

Operators need to act now, added Aviation Safety Solutions CEO Amanda Ferraro, CAM, who works with airlines and business aviation operators to develop SMS. “This is not a case of filling out the declaration of compliance statement and then putting your processes into place.”

The rule marks a thoughtful approach overall that will ultimately make business aviation safer, said Ben van Niekerk, standards captain at Part 135 operator GrandView Aviation and CEO of Total Quality and Safety Management Solutions.

“A mature, well integrated SMS makes a huge difference,” he added. “I really encourage operators to [adopt] Part 5 – it’s a proactive tool, it boosts morale and it’s a really effective management tool.”

“Resources are available,” said Mark Larsen, CAM, NBAA director, safety and flight operations and the webinar’s co-moderator alongside Carr. “It’s a journey we’re all in together to improve safety for all of business aviation.”

“SMS isn’t the bear to be afraid of,” Carr added. “In fact, in many cases, it can be a simple tool that will help your organization understand where risks exist and then ways to potentially mitigate those risks.”

To review NBAA’s resources on SMS, go to: https://nbaa.org/flight-department-administration/sms/.

Source: NBAA.org 

SMS Overview

Source: FAA.gov

A Safety Management System (SMS) is a formal, top-down, organization wide approach to managing safety risk and ensuring the effectiveness of safety risk controls.

An SMS is made up of four components: 

• Safety Policy
• Safety Risk Management
• Safety Assurance
• Safety Promotion