SMS Knowledge Checks for Aviation Staff
An SMS knowledge check aviation staff sit after safety management system (SMS) training is a short, scored set of questions that tests whether each person understands their own organization’s SMS: who is accountable, what counts as a hazard, how to report one, and what happens next. As of October 2026, the rules read for this post require SMS training and competence. They do not name a quiz.
This post is for heads of training, safety and quality managers and chief instructors at Part-145 maintenance organisations, air operators, airlines, ground handlers and aviation course providers. It will not help you pass a licence exam. It shows how to build a role-based check from your own SMS documents.
Every rule below comes from the FAA’s 14 CFR Part 5 (read through the Cornell LII copy of 14 CFR 5.91, because the official eCFR page could not be fetched) or from EU regulations on EUR-Lex, read in October 2026; exact wording is marked (quoted). ICAO Annex 19 is sold by ICAO and was not read. This is not legal advice, and rules differ by country, so check your competent authority before you change how staff are trained or tested.
Key takeaways
- FAA 14 CFR 5.91 and EASA ORO.GEN.200(a)(4) require SMS training and competent personnel, and neither text read for this post prescribes a test, a pass mark or a frequency.
- Build the check by role, because the FAA text names the accountable executive, management and employees as different groups with different SMS duties.
- Key every item to your own SMS manual revision, since the right answer to “who do you tell?” is a fact about your organization, not about aviation in general.
- Use results to decide retraining, not to rank or blame people, and pair the check with observed behavior and reporting data.
What do regulators require for SMS training, and do they require a test?
The texts read require training and competence for SMS duties and require safety information to reach staff. None of them, in the paragraphs read, requires a quiz, sets a pass mark or fixes a retest interval. A knowledge check is one way you can show the competence the rule asks for.
The table lists the main provisions, what each says and what it leaves to you or your authority.
| Source (as of October 2026) | What the text says | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| FAA 14 CFR 5.91, safety promotion: competencies and training | A person required to have an SMS “must provide training to each individual identified in § 5.23 of this part to ensure the individuals attain and maintain the competencies necessary to perform their duties relevant to the operation and performance of the SMS.” (quoted) | No test, pass mark, interval or record format |
| FAA 14 CFR 5.93, safety communication | Methods must make sure employees know the SMS policies, processes and tools relevant to their responsibilities, convey hazard information relevant to their responsibilities, and explain why safety actions and procedure changes happen (paraphrased) | Channel, frequency and proof of receipt |
| FAA 14 CFR 5.71(a)(7) | Requires “a confidential employee reporting system in which employees can report hazards” (quoted), and employees may propose solutions without concern of reprisal (paraphrased) | Tool, form and how staff are taught to use it |
| EASA Part-ORO, ORO.GEN.200(a)(4) and (a)(5) | The management system includes “maintaining personnel trained and competent to perform their tasks” and a “process for making personnel aware of their responsibilities” (both quoted) | How competence is shown and how often |
| EASA Part-145, 145.A.200(a)(4) | Same “trained and competent” wording for maintenance organisations; Regulation (EU) 2021/1963 applies from 2 December 2022 | Test design, content and retest interval |
| ICAO Annex 19 | International baseline for States; text not read for this post | Not assessed |
Three layers decide the details. The regulation requires training and competence. Your authority decides what it accepts as evidence, so ask it. You choose the format, length, pass rule and schedule, and you should write those choices into your own training procedures.
Which organizations need an SMS in the first place?
It depends on the certificate. As read from 14 CFR 5.1, Part 5 applies to Part 121 and Part 135 certificate holders, holders of a Letter of Authorization under 91.147, and some type and production certificate holders. The Part 5 text read did not list Part 147 schools, and compliance dates were not checked.
In the EU, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1963 amended Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 on safety management systems in maintenance organisations. It amended Part-145; the text read did not amend Part-147. Air operators fall under Part-ORO in Regulation (EU) No 965/2012. Approved Training Organisations have their own management-system point under the aircrew rules, which this post did not read.
What should an SMS knowledge check aviation staff take cover?
It should cover what each role needs to do with the SMS, not the whole manual. The FAA text names three groups with different duties: the accountable executive, members of management and employees. A single quiz for everyone either bores line staff or under-tests managers.
The FAA’s cancelled Advisory Circular 120-92B (issued 2015) put it this way: “Everyone working within the scope of SMS should receive training commensurate with their position in the organization.” (quoted) The FAA’s own page says it was cancelled on 21 May 2024 and replaced by AC 120-92D, which this post could not open, so read the current circular before you rely on that wording.
The table is a starting blueprint built from the 14 CFR 5.23 and 5.25 duties as read. The formats are suggestions, not requirements.
| Role | What the check should show they can do | Source of the duty | Suggested format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accountable executive | Explain their accountability, which levels of management may accept safety risk, and how the safety policy reaches staff | 14 CFR 5.25 and 5.23(b) | 6 to 8 scenario items plus a review with the safety manager |
| Managers and department heads | Identify hazards, assess risk, and advise the accountable executive on SMS performance | 14 CFR 5.23 (quoted duties: “Hazard identification and safety risk assessment”; “Advising the accountable executive on the performance of the SMS”) | 10 to 12 scenario items on risk and escalation |
| Safety and quality staff | Analyze risk, evaluate controls and audit; the cancelled AC 120-92B listed “safety risk analysis, system evaluation, and auditing” | Your own job descriptions | Longer check plus a practical task |
| Line staff, instructors, technicians, ramp and cabin crew | State the safety policy in plain terms, recognize a hazard, use the reporting route, and say what happens after a report | 14 CFR 5.93 and 5.71(a)(7); ORO.GEN.200(a)(5) | 8 to 12 short items at induction and after each refresher |
These item counts are this post’s assumption. No regulator text read sets them, so adjust them after you look at how your own staff perform.
Which SMS knowledge check aviation item types work best?
Short scenario items work best, because SMS duties are decisions: spot a hazard, pick a reporting route, decide who must be told. Recall items fit definitions such as hazard versus risk. Our guide to scenario-based multiple-choice questions covers the writing rules.
The twist for SMS is that the key comes from your documents. “Who do you tell?” has one right answer in your organization and a different one in the next. The three illustrative items below are original and are not taken from any exam or authority material.
- Hazard definition (recall). “Which statement best matches your SMS manual’s definition of a hazard?” Options are drawn from your manual’s own wording, plus two common misreadings such as treating a past incident as the hazard.
- Reporting route (scenario). “You notice a loose panel fastener on a tow tractor at the end of your shift. Using your SMS manual, what do you do first?” Options: fix it quietly, submit a hazard report in the route your manual names and tell your supervisor, wait to see if it recurs, or note it in a personal logbook. The key is whatever your manual says.
- Risk acceptance (scenario). “A supervisor wants to continue a task with an open hazard report. Who may accept that risk under your safety policy?” The key is the list of management levels your own policy names, which 14 CFR 5.23(b) requires an SMS to identify.
Pro tip: Test The Route, Not The Definition. Staff can recite “a hazard is a condition that could cause harm” and still not know which form, app or phone number to use. Put your real report form and contact name in the stem, and spend at least a third of line-staff items on what to do next.
How do you keep the answer key correct when the SMS manual changes?
Tag each item with the SMS manual section and revision it tests, then flag every tagged item for review whenever that section changes. Without that link, a quiz quietly teaches an old procedure. FAA 14 CFR 5.93(d) asks that employees be told “why safety procedures are introduced or changed” (paraphrased), so a manual change is also a trigger for the check.
The same tags help with analysis. If most of a group misses the item on risk acceptance, the cause may be a vague manual page, not careless staff. Our guide to item analysis for trainers shows how to read difficulty and distractor data.
How should you score SMS knowledge checks without punishing people?
Score for mastery of the essentials, use results to assign refresher training, and do not publish individual scores. The rules read set no pass mark, so you choose one. A person who fails a reporting-route item should repeat that topic whatever their overall score.
Two reasons support this. First, 14 CFR 5.71(a)(7) requires a confidential employee reporting system in which employees can report hazards, and a quiz culture that shames wrong answers may make people less willing to speak up. Second, the cancelled AC 120-92B said competence “can be assessed at the completion of training by written, oral, or demonstration tests” and “then measured periodically during the performance of that individual’s work” (both quoted). A quiz is one input, not the verdict.
What does an SMS knowledge check not prove?
It does not prove behavior, reporting culture or the quality of your hazard analysis. A person can score 100 percent and never file a report. Pair the check with observation by supervisors, with the number and quality of reports you receive, and with how fast you close them. Those are separate measures of how the SMS works.
Pro tip: Look For The Silent Group. If a team with high check scores files almost no hazard reports, do not congratulate them. Ask what stops them from reporting, and use the check data to find where training is not changing behavior.
How often should you repeat SMS knowledge checks, and what records should you keep?
Repeat them on a schedule you set and on defined triggers, because the FAA text asks staff to “attain and maintain” competence without naming an interval. The interval is your decision. Write the schedule and triggers into your training procedure so an auditor can see them.
These triggers follow from the rules read, though the intervals are assumptions:
- New hire or change of role, before the person works unsupervised on safety-critical tasks.
- Revision of the SMS manual sections an item tests.
- A change to a procedure or a hazard communicated under 14 CFR 5.93, such as after an investigation.
- Your annual recurrent cycle; see our post on recurrent testing and renewals for scheduling logic.
For each attempt, record the person and role, date, item IDs and versions, SMS manual revision, score, which topics were missed, and what remedial action followed. Your authority decides what evidence it accepts, so ask what it expects to see. The post on what regulators expect from online assessment in aviation training explains how to ask that question.
What should you do next?
Start with one role. Take the line-staff row of the blueprint, write ten items from your current SMS manual, and give them to three experienced colleagues who did not write them. Where they disagree on the key, fix the manual or the item before any learner sees it.
Then write your schedule, pass rule and record fields into your training procedure and confirm with your competent authority that it accepts them. If you want a tool for the item bank, SimpliAssess’s features page lists Item Banking, Tag Management, Test Management, Examinee Management and Analytics & Reporting. It does not describe aviation or SMS-specific functions. SimpliTrain’s aviation page lists Assessments & Exams and Question Banks among its platform features and describes a certification tracker with expiry alerts. It does not describe an SMS module.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SMS knowledge check in aviation?
It is a short scored quiz that tests whether a person understands their organization’s safety management system, including accountability, hazard identification and how to report. It checks knowledge after training. It does not replace observation of behavior, and it is not a regulator-run licence exam. Your own SMS manual supplies the answer key.
Does the FAA or EASA require a test on the SMS?
In the texts read for this post, no. FAA 14 CFR 5.91 requires training so individuals attain and maintain the needed competencies, and EASA ORO.GEN.200(a)(4) requires personnel who are trained and competent. Neither names a test, pass mark or interval. A knowledge check can serve as evidence, but ask your competent authority what it accepts.
How many questions should an SMS knowledge check have?
No regulator text read sets a number. For line staff, 8 to 12 short items is a practical starting point, and managers may need 10 to 12 scenario items. These counts are this post’s suggestion. Check how long people take and which items they miss, then adjust. Keep it short enough to repeat after every manual change.
What pass mark should an SMS knowledge check use?
The rules read do not set one, so your organization decides and documents it. A workable approach is a mastery threshold plus a rule that missing a reporting-route item means repeating that topic. Treat any threshold as your policy, not a regulatory number, and review it after you see real results.
Does a Part 147 school or Part-147 training organisation need an SMS?
The Part 5 applicability text and the EU Part-145 amendment read for this post do not list Part 147 schools or Part-147 organisations. That is not a ruling that no SMS duty applies, because rules differ by country and change. Confirm with your competent authority whether your certificate carries an SMS requirement.
Should SMS knowledge check results be anonymous?
Not for scored checks you use as training records, because you need to know who completed what. Anonymous polls suit live sessions where you only want to see what the group misunderstood. Limit who sees individual results, explain how they are used, and keep them separate from the confidential reporting system.
