The Hidden Message Behind SMS: Are Regulators Backing Off?
By Florin Necula, PhD | Maintenance Manager & Lecturer in Safety & Human Factors
May 30th, 2025
Aviation is not short on rules. From AMCs to GMs, from audit checklists to task cards, from screw torque to staff rest times — EASA’s regulatory framework for Part 145 organizations is among the most detailed on the planet.
So why, after decades of tightening controls, did the industry introduce Safety Management Systems?
The truth is hard to ignore: SMS may be the clearest sign yet that regulation has hit its ceiling — and regulators know it.
Too Many Rules, Not Enough Safety?
Let’s call it what it is: aviation has flirted with overregulation.
At some point, more rules stopped producing more safety — and started producing compliance theatre. Technicians followed procedures to the letter, but real risks still slipped through. Everyone filled the forms, but few felt truly empowered to act on what they saw.
Enter SMS — not as an extra layer, but as a necessary shift
A shift from prescriptive oversight to proactive ownership.
From regulators telling us “how”, to organisations deciding “why”.
SMS: Strategic Retreat or Enlightened Evolution?
You could argue that SMS represents a kind of regulatory retreat. Authorities reached a point where they couldn’t regulate safety any further without micromanaging every human decision — something no paper system can achieve.
But maybe it’s not backing off — maybe it’s stepping aside. And that’s a powerful distinction.
SMS acknowledges that those closest to the work — not the ones furthest from it — are in the best position to manage safety in real time. It’s a message hidden in plain sight: “We can’t write enough rules to cover every scenario. Now it’s your turn.”
For Part 145: This Is a Cultural Wake-Up Call
As a line maintenance manager, I see firsthand how SMS has reframed the game:
- It’s no longer about proving you followed the rule.
- It’s about showing you understood the risk.
- Not just “did you comply,” but “did you think?”
SMS is less about filling forms, more about fostering mindset. And that scares some — because culture is harder to audit.
Have Regulators Done All They Can?
In a way, yes.
They’ve built the scaffolding. SMS is the final tool — the one that asks us to do the heavy lifting. To not just follow the rules, but to own the outcome.
That’s not abandonment. It’s maturity.
Final Thought: The Era of Shared Responsibility
The hidden message behind SMS isn’t weakness. It’s trust.
Trust that the people maintaining aircraft are capable of managing complexity when equipped with the right tools, data and authority.
So, are regulators backing off?
Maybe. But maybe, just maybe — it’s because it’s time we stepped up.
What Do You Think?
Do you see SMS as empowerment, or as regulators offloading responsibility? Let’s start the conversation!
