Safety Management Systems for Small, Non-Hub Airports and GA Airports

In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published its final rule on Safety Management Systems (SMSs) for Part 139 airports. This long-awaited rule is now a regulatory requirement for any airport certificated under FAR Part 139. Many small-hub and non-hub airports that fall under this category face staffing and resource constraints, and guidelines are needed to support them as well as any other airport that may one day fall under this category. Additionally, there may be airports, including general aviation (GA) airports, that may wish to develop an SMS program voluntarily. The objective of this research is to develop a guide for developing, implementing, and running an SMS program at small-hub, non-hub, and GA airports. The guide should include best practices, templates, tools, and lessons learned from airports currently running a program that can be used by airports that are either required to comply with the Part 139 SMS rule or that voluntarily choose to establish an SMS program.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5952
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $400,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 04-36

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)

  Transportation Research Board, 500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Project Managers:

  Griffin, Matthew

• Start Date: 20250812
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airports; Best practices; Lessons learned; Safety management
• Identifier Terms: Safety Management Systems
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01962991
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 04-36
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 12 2025 9:09AM