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In this tutorial, you will create a formal risk assessment in PlaneConnection — from identifying a hazard through rating its risk and documenting controls. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a documented risk assessment with a hazard, a risk rating, and controls — all stored in your SMS records.
Who should do this tutorial? Safety Managers who perform risk assessments as part of the SRM process. Pilots and crew may also participate in risk assessment during safety meetings or as part of pre-flight risk evaluation. You will need Safety Manager or Admin permissions to create risk assessments.

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Before you start

Make sure you have:
  • An active PlaneConnection account with Safety Manager or Admin role
  • Familiarity with the SMS module navigation (see the Quickstart)
When is a risk assessment required? Per 14 CFR 5.51, you must apply Safety Risk Management when designing new systems, making changes to existing systems, after identifying hazards through safety assurance, when existing risk controls are found to be ineffective, or when external changes affect your operations.
This tutorial uses the ICAO 5x5 risk matrix. If you are new to it, review the Risk Assessment Matrix before you start — it covers severity levels, likelihood categories, and risk zone definitions.

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Creating the risk assessment

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Viewing your risk assessments

After creating a risk assessment, you can find it in two places: Hazards list: Navigate to Hazards in the sidebar to see all risk assessments in a table view. You can filter by category, risk level, and status. Risk Matrix view: Navigate to Hazards > Risk Matrix to see all assessed risks plotted on the 5x5 matrix. This view gives you an at-a-glance picture of your organization’s risk landscape — where risks are concentrated and whether they are trending toward acceptable levels.

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Risk assessment records

Per 14 CFR 5.97, risk assessment outputs must be maintained as long as the risk control remains relevant. PlaneConnection stores all risk assessments with full history, including:
  • The original hazard description
  • All severity and likelihood ratings (initial and residual)
  • All controls documented
  • The date of assessment and the person who performed it
  • Any linked reports, investigations, or CPAs
These records are available for FAA surveillance and audit purposes.

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Next steps

The Risk Matrix

See the full reference for the 5x5 risk matrix, including all risk zone definitions.

Understanding Risk Management

Learn the theory behind Safety Risk Management and how it fits into your SMS.
Last modified on April 11, 2026