FAA Expands Safety Management System Requirements to Part 135 Operators

FAA Expands Safety Management System Requirements to Part 135 Operators

The Federal Aviation Administration published a final rule April 26, 2024, requiring Safety Management Systems for additional aviation segments. The mandate applies to Part 135 charter operators, Part 91.147 air tour operators and certain Part 21 aircraft manufacturers.

Implementation Timeline

Part 135 operators must submit a Declaration of Compliance to the FAA no later than May 28, 2027, with compliant SMS programs required to be fully developed and implemented prior to that deadline. FAA-certificated repair stations in the U.S. seeking EASA Part-145 approval must have SMS fully implemented by Dec. 31, 2025.

Collaborative Safety Framework

The FAA's SMS framework consists of four functional components: Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance and Safety Promotion. According to FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, "Requiring more aviation organizations to implement a proactive approach to managing safety will prevent accidents and save lives."

The regulatory approach emphasizes that SMS provides a structured, repeatable, systematic approach to proactively identify hazards and manage safety risk. The final rule includes a requirement that organizations with SMS share hazard information with other aviation organizations to work collaboratively in identifying and addressing potential safety issues. U.S. airlines have been required to implement SMS since 2018, providing established industry experience as the regulations expand.