FAA SMS Compliance Review Act of 2026

Independent FAA safety review panel

This bill would require the FAA Administrator to convene an independent expert review panel within 60 days to evaluate FAA Safety Management System (SMS) implementation across FAA lines of business. The panel would include NASA SMS experts; five labor representatives (pilots, FAA air traffic controllers, and safety inspectors); at least five independent SMS experts with 10+ years' experience; three air carrier SMS administrators; two part 21 certificate holder representatives; and one aerospace industry SMS representative. The U.S. Mission to ICAO and the NTSB would be non‑voting members, and up to five FAA employees could serve as advisers. Non‑federal members would sign nondisclosure agreements, and with a majority vote the panel could enter FAA sites and inspect records needed for the review; access to protected or classified information would be limited and some records would be provided in de‑identified form, and interviews of FAA employees would require the Administrator's approval. The panel would submit a report within 180 days of its first meeting, recommendations would need endorsement by two‑thirds of appointed members to be included, the Administrator would post the report and any dissenting views on the FAA website within 5 days, and the panel would terminate when it files the report.