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Overall Description of Deadline: Congress passed Public Law 111-216 that instructs FAA to conduct a rulemaking to require all part 121 air carriers to implement a Safety Management System (SMS). This act further states that FAA shall consider at a minimum each of the following as part of the SMS rulemaking: (1) An Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP); (2) a Flight Operations Quality Assurance Program (FOQA); (3) a Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA); and (4) an Advance Qualifications Program.

Statement of Need: Passage of the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-216), section 215 "Safety Management System" directs the Administrator to conduct a rulemaking to require all part 121 air carriers to implement a safety management system (SMS). The Act requires an NPRM within 90 days and a final rule not later than 24 months from enactment of Public Law 111-216.

Summary of the Legal Basis: Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-216), section 215, signed by President on August 1, 2010.

Alternatives: The Rulemaking Team considered including parts 135 (air carriers) and 145 (repair stations) to the rule but did not because of time restraints.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: Costs and benefits of this final rule are still in development. An initial cost estimate for SMS implementation over 3 years is $270,000 (small carrier), $373,950 (medium carrier), and $1,135,500 (large carrier) with total cost for 90 part 121 carriers of $52,276,200. However, given the flexibility of SMS, and expected safety improvements, benefits are expected to exceed costs.

Risks: Commercial air carrier accident rate in the U.S. has remained relatively constant over the past 10 years. However, the recent trend of hazards include many that could have been mitigated or eliminated had a structured, organization-wide approach to managing air carriers' operations been in place. SMS is a comprehensive, process-oriented approach to managing safety throughout an organization, and stresses not only compliance with technical standards but increased emphasis on the overall safety performance of the organization. The potential reduction of risks would be averted causalities, aircraft damage, and accident investigation costs by identifying safety issues and spotting trends before they result in a near-miss, incident, or accident.