SMS Hazard Analysis at a University Flight School

For the last several years, the flight school of a mid-sizeduniversity has been working to implement a safety management system (SMS). As part of the effort, a robust self-reporting system has been developed, from which data has been used to effect changes in school policies and procedures. In thisproject, the safety reports that have accumulated over the life of the reporting systemwere classified based on the hazards experiencedwhich caused the report generation.Non-use of standard procedures was found to be theleading hazard, with 90 of the 176 reports indicating improper procedure application. The traffic pattern at the non-towered airport wherethe flight school operates was the phase of flight found to be most prevalent in the safety reports, with non-standard pattern procedures, improper judgement/decision-making and communication issues cited as common hazards. Student knowledge/skill and instructor technique were also frequently reported hazards