S. 3700 — FAA SMS Compliance Review Act of 2026

This section directs the FAA Administrator to convene, not later than 60 days after enactment, an independent expert review panel to assess the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) implementation of its Safety Management System (SMS) across lines of business—including the Air Traffic Organization, Aviation Safety Office, and Office of Airports—and to issue recommendations for a comprehensive, integrated SMS. (As background, SMS is an FAA-wide framework, aligned with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, comprising four components: safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion.) The panel must review (1) FAA SMS compliance with agency orders and policies and projected safety enhancements; (2) effectiveness of the four SMS components, internal audits, integration across FAA lines of business, personnel training and communication, safety culture per ICAO Doc. 9859, and voluntary safety reporting programs; (3) SMS efficacy in specified FAA offices; and (4) potential ICAO Annex 19 updates for air navigation service providers and regulators, plus other public-interest aviation safety matters. The panel consists of 17 appointed voting members—two NASA SMS experts; five aviation labor representatives (including airline pilots and FAA air traffic controllers); at least five independent SMS experts with 10 years' experience and no prior FAA political roles; two air carrier SMS administrators; two part 21 certificate holders administering SMS; two other aerospace SMS experts; and one U.S. Mission to ICAO representative—plus one non-voting National Transportation Safety Board representative and up to five advisory FAA SMS experts. Not later than 180 days after its first meeting, the panel submits to the Administrator and appropriate congressional committees a report of majority-endorsed findings and recommendations, with appended dissenting views; the Administrator publishes the full report on the FAA website within 5 days, after which the panel terminates.