ABSTRACT
Safety will be the benchmark that determines how quickly and how successfully unmanned aircraft develop over the next decade. Airport pilot programs for Safety Management Systems (SMS) have seen the value through cost reduction, incident and accident rate reductions, and overall system efficiency increases. To maximize the use and efficacy of the SMS Risk Assessment model, it is important to understand how determining risk helps an aviation organization. Risk mitigation is intended to do certain things directly related to the risk characteristics identified in the risk analysis phase of SMS. The Federal Aviation Administration clearly approves of the SMS model for risk management and seeks to maintain or promote safety leadership within the United States. Safety promotion is one of the most difficult components of SMS and is where training and leadership drive change directly. Safety promotion requires the combination of training and communication specifically geared toward safety information between employees, management, and contractors.
