DADE Safety Management Systems 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In SMS, 'risk tolerance' (also called acceptable risk) is primarily determined by:
- The FAA on behalf of all operators
- Individual pilots based on their experience level
- Senior management through the organization's safety policy (Correct answer)
- The aircraft manufacturer's operations manual
Correct answer: Senior management through the organization's safety policy
Senior management establishes the organization's risk tolerance through safety policy, which defines the level of risk deemed acceptable for operations.
Question 2: Which SMS pillar specifically includes the activities of safety performance monitoring and safety audits?
- Safety policy and objectives
- Safety risk management
- Safety assurance (Correct answer)
- Safety promotion
Correct answer: Safety assurance
Safety assurance encompasses monitoring, auditing, and evaluating the effectiveness of the SMS and its risk controls.
Question 3: A dispatch supervisor discovers that a newly hired dispatcher has been routinely approving fuel loads below the regulatory minimum without documentation. This is best handled first by:
- Terminating the dispatcher immediately
- Filing an ASAP report and initiating a systemic review of training adequacy (Correct answer)
- Quietly correcting the individual without creating a paper trail
- Waiting for the annual safety audit to address it
Correct answer: Filing an ASAP report and initiating a systemic review of training adequacy
An ASAP (Aviation Safety Action Program) report captures the safety issue formally and triggers systemic review to prevent recurrence, consistent with SMS principles.
Question 4: What does 'safety promotion' accomplish within an SMS?
- Markets the airline's safety record to passengers
- Builds safety culture through training, communication, and information sharing (Correct answer)
- Promotes the airline to regulators for reduced oversight
- Establishes the chain of command for emergency response
Correct answer: Builds safety culture through training, communication, and information sharing
Safety promotion fosters a positive safety culture by ensuring all employees are trained, informed, and motivated to support SMS objectives.
Question 5: Under SMS, a 'corrective action' differs from a 'preventive action' in that corrective action:
- Addresses a hazard before any incident occurs
- Addresses the root cause of an identified deficiency that has already occurred (Correct answer)
- Is only applied to maintenance-related discrepancies
- Requires FAA approval before implementation
Correct answer: Addresses the root cause of an identified deficiency that has already occurred
Corrective action responds to existing nonconformities or deficiencies, while preventive action proactively addresses potential future problems.
Question 6: A dispatcher's release is signed for a flight operating into known icing conditions. The safety risk control for this hazard relies on the aircraft's anti-ice system. SMS would categorize this control as:
- An administrative control — procedural
- An elimination control — removing the hazard
- A technical/engineering control — modifying the system (Correct answer)
- A substitution control — replacing the risk
Correct answer: A technical/engineering control — modifying the system
An installed anti-ice system is a technical/engineering control that modifies the aircraft's capability to handle the identified icing hazard.
Question 7: The FAA's Safety Management System Voluntary Program (SMSVP) was intended to:
- Replace mandatory Part 121 SMS requirements
- Allow non-Part 121 operators to voluntarily develop and implement SMS (Correct answer)
- Exempt SMSVP participants from normal surveillance
- Reduce insurance premiums for participating carriers
Correct answer: Allow non-Part 121 operators to voluntarily develop and implement SMS
The SMSVP provided a framework for aviation organizations not mandated by Part 5 to voluntarily develop and implement SMS.
DADE Safety Management Systems 3
In SMS, 'risk tolerance' (also called acceptable risk) is primarily determined by: