Abstract
The aviation industry is one of the most highly regulated mode of transportation of passengers and goods. During the November 2006 Chicago Convention, a resolution was made that Inter-national Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) members, and of which South Africa is the part of, should development and implement a State Safety Programme for effective management of aviation safety at the State level. To that effect, The SSP requires that every service provider, as defined in the Annexes 1, 6, 8, 11, 13 and 14 of the Chicago Convention implement safety management system (SMS). Aircraft maintenance organisations (AMOs) as one of service pro-viders are among the entities/organisations required to implement a safety management system (SMS) in accordance with the South African Civil Aviation Regulation Part 140.01.1 applica-bility. The South African Civil Aviation Regulation (SACAR) Part 145.01.1(1)(b) indicates that AMOs under this Part regulation shall comply with its provisions and the relevant provi-sions of Part 140. The investigative purpose of this research study evaluated safety manage-ment system comprehension on its primary function (safety risk management and safety assur-ance) among AMOs, the understanding of its processes and procedures, and factors influencing its ineffectiveness. Seven AMOs that provide aircraft maintenance to the Part 121 aircraft operators were the primary focus of this study. The study adopted a quantitative method for its execution, and questionnaires were randomly disseminated to the sampled seven AMOs population. Frequency distribution and exploratory factor analysis techniques were adopted in administering data analysis. Cronbach’s alpha was used measure the authenticity and reliability of the measuring instrument. A regression analysis technique was used to measure the relation-ship between the independent and dependent variables. The study outcomes indicate there is an existence and understanding of the primary function of the SMS and its related processes and procedures among AMOs and even known at the employees’ level. The AMOs’ SMS per-formance is substantially effective as measured by this study.
Keywords: Aircraft maintenance organisations, safety assurance, safety management system, safety risk management, safety performance