Garmin Has Your Aviation SMS Needs Covered

A streamlined flight operation service, FltPlan® SMS by Garmin simplifies the safety management for your organization.

In 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a mandate requiring all Part 135 and Part 91.147 air tour operators to have a safety management system (SMS) — with proof of compliance by May 28, 2027. FltPlan SMS by Garmin is here to simplify the process of meeting these requirements, helping you build a robust safety management program that enhances your organization’s safety culture.

What Is an SMS?

A safety management system offers an organization-wide framework designed to monitor, evaluate and enhance safety objectives using intuitive tools. With clear procedures and policies in place, an SMS helps mitigate risks in all stages of aviation operations and enables organizations to identify potential hazards ahead of time.

If you, your organization or your company is seeking an efficient SMS solution, look no further than FltPlan SMS.

Safety Management Simplified with FltPlan SMS

We get that an SMS solution is not a one-size-fits-all approach, so we designed FltPlan SMS to fit your organization’s needs. How? You can customize rules specific to your operation and aircraft fleet based on the experience level of your pilots and aircraft types.

Whether you operate a small fleet or are part of a large organization, FltPlan SMS is designed to encompass the key functional aviation safety components, including:

• Safety policy
• Safety risk management
• Safety assurance
• Safety promotion

Worried about complicated flight risk assessment tools (FRATs) slowing your crews down? The FltPlan SMS FRAT streamlines flight risk assessments for your pilots, promoting an effective safety culture.

Pilots can simply — and quickly — answer a few questions on FltPlan SMS from a smartphone or tablet. Based on the data entered, such as the current weather, terrain, runway conditions and more, risk scores are generated on demand with scheduled updates as often as you’d like — up to one hour ahead of departure. Crews can even be alerted if the weather changes will impact their FRAT score.

Need to file Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports? That also can be done within FltPlan SMS if you choose to participate. Self-manage your ASAP reports with an internal event review committee or enlist the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) to assist as a reviewer if you’re an ACSF member.

More Benefits to Appreciate

In addition to the customized SMS platform, efficient FRATs and an intuitive safety management dashboard, FltPlan SMS delivers much more than meets the eye, including:

• Your own written and online documentation of implementing compliant SMS
• Guidance on ICAO/FAA/IS-BAO compliant templates
• SMS compliance certificates
• Expert phone and email support
• Individual accounts and dashboards
• Automatic email notifications when an accident, incident or hazard is reported
• Safety document storage
• Records of past risks
• Ability to manage and audit and perform internal or external audits of the SMS system

See SMS Reporting and Safety Performance Dashboard in Action

Flight operators can identify potential areas of improvement with the use of the safety performance dashboard, which includes preconfigured reports designed by SMS experts. Additionally, flight operators can create custom reports.

If you’ve got to see it to believe it, check out how easy it is to navigate FltPlan SMS with the following videos.

Want to talk to an SMS expert? Schedule a demo today to learn more. Or, if you’re ready to enroll in FltPlan SMS, fill out our online form to get started.