14 CFR Part 5
Part 5 is the section of the federal aviation regulations covering safety management systems. Below is what it states, quoted, with the section each quotation comes from and a link to the source.
27 questions against Part 5. No cost, and no card.
What it says
Section 5.1 is titled Applicability and opens: “This part applies to all of the following”. It then lists six categories, which include persons holding or applying for a certificate under part 119 authorizing operations under part 121 or part 135, persons holding or applying for a Letter of Authorization under § 91.147, and several categories of type and production certificate holders under part 21.
The full wording of each category is in the regulation, and the regulation is the authority on it. Whether a particular operation falls inside one of them depends on facts about that operation, so it is a question for the operator, their advisors and the FAA.
What it requires
Section 5.5(a) states that an SMS under this part “must be appropriate to the size, scope, and complexity of the person’s organization” and include, at a minimum, four components.
Subpart B
Subpart C
Subpart D
Subpart E
The size, scope and complexity wording is worth noticing: the rule does not describe one shape of program for every operator.
Dates the rule sets
Part 5 does not set one deadline. Each requirements section sets its own, and which section governs depends on which category of § 5.1 a person falls into.
Other sections carry their own requirements and dates. Read the part rather than a summary of it, including this one.
Free assessment
27 questions about how your safety program actually runs, scored out of 54. It costs nothing, the questions are open to read before you answer any of them, and you keep the result.
What it covers
27 questions, 54 points, around ten minutes.
Every section is scored on its own out of its own maximum, so the result is five readings rather than one number. Where your answers are strongest and where they are thinnest both show.
Each question names the sections of 14 CFR Part 5 it is drawn from, so you can read what the regulation actually says next to what you answered.
Each section comes back with what your answers point to and what usually comes next, drawn from the answers you gave rather than from a template.
The results print or save as a PDF from the page, so the picture can go to your accountable executive or into a meeting without being retyped.
No cost, and no card.
The book
Rise Above the Risk
The 12 elements of an aviation SMS. The first two chapters are free.
Read chaptersRISE holds the records a safety program produces, organized the way the rule organizes an SMS: policy and objectives, hazard reporting and risk evaluation, audits and corrective actions, and promotions with acknowledgement. What it cannot do is make an operation compliant. That is a property of the operation and its records, and it is determined by the FAA.
Questions
A guided walkthrough of how RISE handles reporting, evaluation, resolution and insight, with time to talk about how your own operation runs today.
