Lots of the Little Guys Will Have to Institute an SMS, if They Haven't Already

The Aircraft Electronics Association notified membership that the FAA's requested commentary on the inclusion of Part 145 repair stations ultimately brought no change, since the administration will not be "expanding the applicability of the rule beyond the original proposal."

It's a bit dense for those outside the industry, but the rule change intended to require "certain certificate holders and commercial air tour operators to develop and implement a safety management system". Such systems are nothing new to the big boys, being a fundamental part of tracking, maintaining, and correcting procedures across a fleet to ensure the traveling public can have near total peace of mind, but it's definitely something new for those tiny little piston fleets ringing every tourist landmark in the country. 

Ultimately, many throughout the safety industry weighed in and provided commentary, particularly given the concept that the FAA could expand the rule even further. Now, the upcoming changes to 14 CFR Part 5 move the requirement for a Safety Management System/SMS from not just air carriers operating under Part 121, but a series of smaller operators too. That's not too surprising given some of the hubbub in recent months and years - more than a few execs in the Part 121 scene kicked some pebbles at their Part 135 cousins, particularly those operating in the resurgent market of fractional and charter flight. Those comments made their way to headlines to portray all non-121 operators as slack on safety since they didn't have the same oversight and legal standards that official air carriers did, but the rule change may do a little to close any perceived gap that exists in the public mind.

"This rule extends the requirement of 14 CFR Part 5, Safety Management Systems," the AEA said, "to all certificate holders operating under the rules for commuter and on-demand operations under Part 135, commercial air tour operators under section 91.147, production certificate holders that are holders or licensees of a type certificate for the same product, and holders of a type certificate that license out that type certificate for production under Part 21."

It may be reasonably assumed that many in the industry are already using an SMS of some sort and description, but the AEA advises that anyone who's already implemented the FAA's SMS program under Part 5 should review the upcoming changes just to make sure they're still in line with the newer regs.

FMI: www.aea.net