Safety · Checklist

Part 5 SMS readiness checklist for Part 135 operators

SG5 Intelligent Solutions · September 26, 2026

How to use this

Each item below maps to a section of 14 CFR Part 5. If you can point to evidence for every item — a document, a record, a named person — you are close to being able to declare compliance.

Items without evidence are your plan for the months before May 28, 2027. Start with safety assurance: it takes the longest to produce records.

This checklist is a planning aid. It does not replace the regulation, FAA guidance or your principal inspector.

Applicability and timing §§ 5.1, 5.9

Safety policy § 5.21

Accountability and people §§ 5.23, 5.25

Safety risk management §§ 5.51–5.57

Safety assurance §§ 5.71–5.75

Safety promotion §§ 5.91–5.93

Documentation and records §§ 5.95–5.97

How to use the result

Count the items you cannot evidence today. Anything in safety policy or accountability is a writing task and can be closed in weeks. Anything in safety assurance is an operating task: it only closes once the process has been running long enough to produce records, so it belongs at the front of the plan.

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