Story ID: 
FAA Promotes Safety System Implementation
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: The FAA released Notice 8700.49, effective October 11, to guide FAA inspectors in helping operators develop Safety Management Systems (SMS).
Word Count: 145
The FAA released Notice 8700.49, effective October 11, to guide FAA inspectors in helping operators develop Safety Management Systems (SMS). An SMS advisory circular–AC 120-92–was released on June 22, and since then the FAA has promoted the SMS concept industry-wide, at meetings such as the Bombardier Safety Standdown in early October and the Nascar race team SMS Safety Summit on October 20. Organizations that participate in the NATA Safety 1st program and the IBAC International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) are already using SMS tools. While SMS isn’t mandatory, “the FAA encourages the aviation industry to consider the benefits of an SMS and the development and implementation of associated principles,” the agency said in its notice. NBAA said, “While implementation of an SMS may seem onerous to operators at the first assessment, those who have implemented an SMS have found significant benefit as a result.”