NPRM Incoming to Expand Reporting Requirements for Air Tour Operators

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) weighed in on the FAA's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Safety Management System (SMS).

GAMA President and CEO, Pete Bunce said that its own SMS recommendations have seen use by the EASA abroad as part of its best practices package before expressing enthusiastic reception to the idea of the FAA following suit. He stops short of explicitly approving of the proposed SMS rule, only stating that GAMA is looking forward to reviewing and commenting on the FAA's work. Should it be found up to snuff, the group will likely toss its full weight behind supporting the change.

“For years, GAMA has been a strong supporter for the development of safety management system (SMS) standards for aviation manufacturers and maintenance organizations. We participated in the SMS Aviation Rulemaking Committee which submitted its recommendations in 2014 and then in the subsequent years developed SMS standards and best practices that have been voluntarily adopted by manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, including EASA’s SMS rules for manufacturers that will become applicable in March of this year."

"SMS improves safety and fosters a robust safety oversight culture that permeates from top to bottom and across lines of business which positively impacts a company’s management, employees, products and services. We strongly endorse appropriate implementation of SMS standards and look forward to reviewing and commenting on the FAA’s proposed SMS rule.”

The proposed rule is open for comment through March 13th, and updates the requirements for "certain certificate holders and commercial air tour operators to develop and implement an SMS." The proposed rule would extend the requirement for an SMS to all certificate holders operating under the rules for commuter and on-demand operations, commercial air tour operators, and production certificate holders, among other more niche entities. 

FMI: www.federalregister.gov