In Canada, the requirement for a formal Safety Management System (SMS) under the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) applies to specific categories of air operators and organizations, as outlined in CAR 107 and related subparts.
Based on the regulations and their applicability to CAR 702, 703, 704, 706, 571, and 573, here’s which of these require a formal SMS as of year 2025:
Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation, Risk Management Training
As an aviation safety manager or accountable executive, preparing for an FAA Part 5 Safety Management System (SMS) audit is critical to ensuring compliance and maintaining a robust safety culture.
The FAA’s Part 5 regulation, outlined in 14 CFR Part 5, mandates SMS for certificate holders under Parts
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion, 3-Safety Assurance, 1-Safety Policy, 2-Safety Risk Management, FAA Compliance
The more people involved in the aviation field take advantage of these aviation safety programs, the safer the industry is likely to be.
Encouraging participation in these programs can be as simple as word of mouth referrals or posting program information on bulletin boards at the local fixed base operator (FBO).
However, safety promotion efforts alone are seldom enough to motivate employees to actively involve themselves in a safety program.
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion
In order to understand the idea of safety culture within the aviation industry, we must first understand the respect attributed to:
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion
Identifying hazards is a big part of implementing a Safety Management System or SMS. Most of us assume that we know what a hazard is. It’s not a complicated word, we’re pretty sure we know what it means. No problem, right?
Problem is, hazard might be one of the most misunderstood words in the English language. Probably because a lot of definitions you’ll find say something like what Google tells us, “a danger or risk.” From this, we could gather that a hazard and a risk are the same.
Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management
Unlike those who study and create safety management systems (SMS), to the average employee these programs can be boring.
It’s not that the average employee doesn’t value safety; it’s just that they need to see how these programs are beneficial to them personally.
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion
When you identify a hazard within your organization, the first step is to analyze the risk. If the risk is high, then you need a control measure to reduce risk to acceptable levels.
Any change made to the existing system to reduce risk is a control measure.
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
The best way to recognize and mitigate immediate risks associated with aviation hazards is by using the PAVE checklist to analyze your current safety environment. PAVE is an excellent and expedient flight risk assessment tool (FRAT).
Each risk scenario can be grouped under a part of the PAVE checklist and can help with recognizing both the hazard and the need to react for a particular mission.
Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management
The aviation industry is one where the stakes are always high because human life is involved and the "aviation system" is an open system that is impossible to totally control.
Many have sacrificed their lives for the thrill of flight. Over the years, aviation risk management has emerged to prevent unnecessary loss of life and property.
Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management
An aviation safety management system (SMS) can encompass many different elements but has one overarching goal: improve aviation safety.
The best way to achieve that goal depends on what kind of SMS you participate in.
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion
These two on-demand videos offer:
