General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President and CEO, Pete Bunce, issued the following statement regarding the FAA issuing the Safety Management System (SMS) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM):

“For years, GAMA has been a strong supporter for the development of safety management system (SMS) standards for aviation manufacturers and maintenance organizations. We participated in the SMS Aviation Rulemaking Committee which submitted its recommendations in 2014 and then in the subsequent years developed SMS standards and best practices that have been voluntarily adopted by manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, including EASA’s SMS rules for manufacturers that will become applicable in March of this year. SMS improves safety and fosters a robust safety oversight culture that permeates from top to bottom and across lines of business which positively impacts a company’s management, employees, products and services. We strongly endorse appropriate implementation of SMS standards and look forward to reviewing and commenting on the FAA’s proposed SMS rule.”