Flight Crew
SMS Operations & Individual Responsibilities

Gold Aviation Services holds a 14 CFR Part 135 on-demand air charter certificate and operates under 14 CFR Part 5, the FAA's mandatory SMS regulation. The SMS belongs to everyone in the organization. Safety is a shared responsibility: every employee is expected to identify hazards, report safety concerns and all mandatory reportable events, and support the risk controls that keep operations safe.

Key roles within the SMS:

• Accountable Executive (AE): Ultimate accountability for the SMS. Has authority over resources required to implement and maintain the system. Signs the safety policy [14 CFR §5.23, §5.25].
• Director of Safety (DOS): Day-to-day management of the SMS. Administers the voluntary reporting system, opens and tracks corrective actions through CAPA, conducts internal audits, facilitates external audits, and maintains SMS records, the SDS/MSDS library, and safety training records.
• Director of Operations (DO) and Chief Pilot: Exercise operational control over Operations and Flight Operations and oversee their integration within the SMS.
• Director of Maintenance (DOM): Exercises operational control over Maintenance. Holds company authority for the maintenance program and ensures maintenance-related hazards are identified and addressed within the SMS.

Safety Action Group (SAG): Meets regularly to review safety reports, assess risk, recommend corrective actions, and monitor open items. The SAG is the operational heart of the Safety Assurance process.

Safety Board: Chaired by the Accountable Executive. Meets quarterly to review safety performance data, SPI trends, audit results, and SAG recommendations. Provides strategic direction on safety priorities and resource allocation [14 CFR §5.5, §5.23, §5.25].

The Gold Aviation voluntary safety reporting system is the primary mechanism for hazard identification. Submit a report for any safety concern — near-miss, hazard observation, operational error, equipment issue, or unsafe condition — at any time.

How to submit: Reports are submitted through FOS. The Director of Safety is your point of contact for all safety reports.

What to report:

• Any near-miss or unplanned event that could have resulted in injury, damage, or loss
• Any hazard you observe — in operations, maintenance, facilities, or process
• Errors you made or observed that could recur
• Organizational conditions (pressure, fatigue, communication failures) that are creating safety risk
• Anything that didn't feel right, even if nothing went wrong

What happens after you report:

1. Your report is received and acknowledged in FOS
2. The DOS reviews it and classifies it by hazard type and risk level
3. If corrective action is required, it is opened and assigned in FOS
4. The SAG reviews the report and monitors the corrective action to closure
5. You may be contacted for additional information — this is part of the process, not an investigation of you

The Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) is Gold Aviation's Operational Risk Assessment: a mandatory pre-departure tool completed before every flight leg. It applies binary scoring to defined risk factors across four categories: pilots, aircraft, environment, and external factors. Each factor is either present (1) or not applicable (0); the cumulative count determines overall risk level.

• Low risk: Operations may proceed. FRAT must be documented before departure.
• Medium risk: The DOS is notified and coordinates with the Chief Pilot before a go/no-go decision is made. Mitigations and the decision must be documented before departure.
• High risk: Do not depart. The DOS is notified and coordinates with the Chief Pilot on the go/no-go determination; a mitigation plan and crew briefing are required. All actions must be documented.

The FRAT is a core component of Gold Aviation's Safety Risk Management process under 14 CFR Part 5. A High score means the tool is working.