Safety Risk Management, Assurance, and Promotion: A Hazard Management System for Budget-Constrained Airports

On October 7, 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to extend SafetyManagement Systems (SMS) from airlines to certificated airports, including smaller FAR Part 139 Class IV airports (FAA, 2010). As thepassage of the airport SMS rule is expected and could financially impact low-revenue airports, the purpose of this study is to develop alow-cost SMS for the airport community. This project was initiated in May 2010 and adopted ICAO Doc. 9859 SMM and FAA AdvisoryCirculars 150/5200-37 and 120-92 to design a computer-based hazard management system for airports. From open sources, several On-Line Analytic Processing (OLAP) data collection, mining, and mapping techniques were utilized, with Purdue University Airport (KLAF)as the testbed. The prototype was evaluated by students including pilots, technicians, managers, and traffic controllers. Most importantly,the prototype was developed with a minimum budget, and the final product can be utilized by any airport in the world to launch a safetymanagement system. While the preliminary outcome of the prototype is significant, more advanced managerial features are anticipatedbased upon continuous multi-disciplinary synergy with airports and the FAA’s financial support