1. Introduction

1.1 – Overview

This safety program manual was created from guidance contained in the following documents:

• Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 5, Safety Management Systems

• United States State Safety Program (SSP) (PDF)

• FAA Order 8000.369C, Safety Management System

• FAA Order 8040.C, Safety Risk Management Policy

• FAA Order VS 8000.370, Aviation Safety (AVS) Safety Policy

• FAA Order VS 8000.367, Aviation Safety (AVS) Safety Management System Requirements

• AC 120-92D, Safety Management System for Aviation Service Providers

• International Civil Aviation Organization, Safety Management Manual (Doc 9859)

The APSU Aviation Safety Program adheres to the established regulations and requirements as directed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). All APSU Aviation Science participants and stake holders are expected to actively participate in the program to achieve the highest level of safety.

The safety program is designed to provide the highest reasonable level of safety by identifying and minimizing risks that may contribute to incidents, accidents, or injury to personnel. Each Aviation Science participant shall be accountable for the safe performance of all Aviation Science-related actions and operations

1.2 – SMS Fundamentals

SMS is formal top-down approach to managing safety and assuring effective safety risk controls, which includes procedures, practices, and policies for managing safety. An SMS does not have to be an extensive, expensive, or sophisticated set of techniques to meet the goal of an aviation safety program. 

The APSU Aviation Safety Program is built around the four components of SMS: Safety Commitment, Safety Risk Management (SRM), Safety Assurance (SA), and Safety Culture.

• Safety Commitment – Sets objectives, standards, and assigns responsibilities for the organization, to include students. It is also a place for management to convey its commitment to safety performance.

• Safety Risk Management (SRM) – Provides the decision-making process for identifying hazards and mitigating risk based on a thorough understanding of the organization’s systems and their operating environment. SRM also assigns safety risk acceptability levels. The SRM component is the organization’s way of fulfilling its commitment to consider risk in their operations and to eliminate risk or reduce it to an acceptable level.

• Safety Assurance (SA) – Provides aviation organizations with the necessary processes to promote confidence that the system is meeting defined safety objectives and that implemented mitigations or existing risk controls are working. In safety assurance, the goal is to monitor what is going on and review what has happened to ensure safety objectives are being met.

• Safety Promotion – Designed to ensure that employees have a solid understanding regarding their safety responsibilities and the aviation organization’s safety policies and expectations, reporting procedures, and risk controls. Therefore, training and communication are key areas of safety promotion.

1.3 – Safety Culture

A safety culture is the natural consequence of having humans in the aviation system. Safety culture has been described as “how people behave in relation to safety and risk when no one is watching.” It is an expression of how safety is perceived, valued, and prioritized by management and employees within the organization and is reflected in the extent to which individuals and groups are:

• Aware of the risks and known hazards faced by the organization and its activities

• Continuously behaving to preserve and enhance safety

• Able to access the resources required for safe operations

• Willing and able to adapt when faced with safety issues

• Consistently assessing the safety-related behaviors throughout the organization