What is SMS?
Safety Management System (SMS) is becoming a standard throughout the aviation industry worldwide. It is recognized by the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and civil aviation authorities (CAA) and product/service providers as the next step in the evolution of safety in aviation. SMS is also becoming a standard for the management of safety beyond aviation. Similar management systems are used in the management of other critical areas such as quality, occupational safety and health, security, environment, etc.
Safety Management Systems (SMSs) for product/service providers (certificate holders) and regulators will integrate modern safety risk management and safety assurance concepts into repeatable, proactive systems. SMSs emphasize safety management as a fundamental business process to be considered in the same manner as other aspects of business management.
By recognizing the organization’s role in accident prevention, SMSs provide to both certificate holders and FAA:
- A structured means of safety risk management decision making
- A means of demonstrating safety management capability before system failures occur
- Increased confidence in risk controls though structured safety assurance processes
- An effective interface for knowledge sharing between regulator and certificate holder
- A safety promotion framework to support a sound safety culture
ASRS
ASRS – Aviation Safety Reporting Form
FAR 91.25
PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF REPORT FOR ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES
The Administrator of the FAA will not use reports submitted to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the Aviation Safety Reporting Program (or information derived therefrom) in any enforcement action, except information concerning accidents or criminal offenses which are wholly excluded from the Program.
Why SMS?
At Inflight our #1 priority is safety. Safety culture is highly important to our organization and we want you to be aware of it the day you enter our facility. We want everyone to be able to safely enjoy all of the benefits that flying brings. We encourage every single person involved with our organization to self-report any potential unsafe actions that might have happened while flying with us. We want to know this information so we can analyze the events that took place and make continual improvements to make our organization even safer than it is. When you self-report you are helping yourself, general aviation as a whole, and Inflight. The information that you report is strictly confidential and will not be shared with a 3rd party (unless you are blatantly breaking state or federal laws). We will analyze the data and possibly follow up with you for more questions so we can HELP you become a better pilot.
Benefit To You:
FREE ground and flight training to anyone who self reports their possible unsafe action. We will work with YOU to help you become a better pilot free of charge. There is nothing to be ashamed of, we are all humans and make mistakes. We genuinely would like to know so we can improve and you can improve. There will be ZERO punitive actions to the pilot who self reports. We cannot guarantee the same for those who don’t report and we find out about it later.
If you report you will be added to a drawing for a $250 Sporty’s Pilot Shop Gift Certificate (Winners will be chosen quarterly). For those who participate in our SMS program you will have extremely good odds of winning.
Reportable examples:
These are just examples. There are numerous things you can report.
- Landing with a crosswind and almost went off the runway
- Airplane wasn’t chocked and rolled from its spot
- Crept into class B Airspace
- Noticed line personnel improperly towing or fueling airplanes
- Almost ran the aircraft out of fuel
- Landed on the wrong runway
- Instructor professionalism
- Exceeding Aircraft limitations
- Possible damage to the Aircraft
