Safety Management in Aviation
A Safety Management System (SMS) is a formal, organization-wide framework for managing safety risk. Rather than treating safety as a set of rules to follow, an SMS treats it as an ongoing process — one that requires identifying hazards before they cause harm, assessing risk systematically, implementing controls, and continuously monitoring whether those controls are working.
The FAA defines SMS through four interconnected pillars: Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance, and Safety Promotion. Together, these pillars create a structured approach where safety is not just the responsibility of a safety officer but is embedded into every level of the organization, from the accountable executive down to line personnel.
Why SMS Matters for Part 135 Operators
Part 135 charter and commuter operators face a unique set of challenges. They often fly into unfamiliar airports, operate diverse aircraft types, and serve demanding schedules with lean crews. Historically, these operators relied on reactive safety practices — investigating incidents after they happened and hoping compliance with regulations was sufficient.
SMS changes this equation fundamentally. Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, an SMS requires operators to proactively seek out hazards, assess the associated risks, and put controls in place before an accident occurs. The FAA recognized this gap and, in April 2024, extended SMS requirements to Part 135 operators with a compliance deadline of May 28, 2027.
All Part 135 certificate holders must submit a Declaration of Compliance to the FAA by May 28, 2027. Failure to comply can result in enforcement actions and potential certificate revocation.
From Reactive Safety to Proactive SMS
Aviation safety has evolved through distinct eras. In the early decades of flight, safety improvements came primarily from investigating crashes and fixing what broke — a purely reactive approach. The mid-20th century introduced systematic regulation, establishing rules around crew qualifications, maintenance intervals, and operational procedures.
The modern SMS era represents the next evolution: a proactive, data-driven approach. Instead of relying solely on accident investigations, operators collect safety reports from employees, analyze trends in operational data, conduct risk assessments for new operations, and audit their own processes. The insight behind SMS is straightforward — by the time an accident happens, dozens of precursors were already visible in the data.
How PlaneConnection Implements SMS Digitally
PlaneConnection translates the four pillars of SMS into purpose-built digital workflows. Safety reports can be submitted from any device, with options for confidential or anonymous reporting that encourage a just culture. Each report flows through a structured lifecycle — from initial submission to investigation, root cause analysis, corrective action assignment, and effectiveness verification.
Risk assessments use the standard ICAO 5x5 severity-likelihood matrix, giving safety managers a consistent framework for evaluating hazards. Corrective and preventive actions (CPAs) are tracked with owners, due dates, and verification steps, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Compliance dashboards map your organization’s status against every Part 5 requirement, showing exactly where you stand.
The Shift from Paper to Data-Driven Safety
Many Part 135 operators still manage safety with spreadsheets, filing cabinets, and email chains. This approach has real costs: reports get lost, trends go unnoticed, corrective actions stall without follow-up, and preparing for an FAA audit means days of assembling paperwork.
A digital SMS changes what is possible. When every safety report, risk assessment, investigation finding, and corrective action lives in a single system, patterns become visible. You can see which hazard categories are trending upward, which corrective actions are overdue, and whether your safety performance indicators are moving in the right direction. During an FAA inspection, you can produce any required record in seconds rather than hours.
PlaneConnection maintains complete audit trails automatically. Every action — report submissions, status changes, approvals, and edits — is timestamped and attributed, satisfying the documentation requirements of 14 CFR Part 5 Subpart F.
