Story ID: 
First SMS NPRM released
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: The FAA’s first notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on safety  management systems (SMS) was published on October 7 and will require  Part 139 airports to 
Word Count: 122
The FAA’s first notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on safety  management systems (SMS) was published on October 7 and will require  Part 139 airports to adopt an SMS program within six to nine months of  publication of the final rule. Comments are due by Jan. 5, 2011.  According to the FAA, the SMS is a “formalized approach to ­managing  safety by developing an organization-wide safety policy, developing  formal methods of identifying hazards, ­analyzing and mitigating risk,  developing methods for ensuring continuous safety improvement and  creating organization-wide safety promotion strategies.” A 2001  International Civil Aviation Organization standard in Annex 14 requires  member states to establish SMS requirements for airports. The FAA also  recently released an SMS NPRM for Part 121 airlines, and Part 135  operators may be next in line.