The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Thursday advanced new legislation directing the FAA to convene an independent expert panel to evaluate and recommend improvements to a comprehensive, agencywide safety management system. Introduced Jan. 27 as S. 3700, the FAA SMS Compliance Review Act of 2026 calls for a review of FAA safety policies, safety programs and implementation of safety management practices across the agency.
Under the legislation, the FAA administrator would be required to convene the panel within 60 days of enactment. The FAA safety panel would include representatives from NASA, aviation labor organizations, air carriers, certificate holders under Part 21, other industry representatives, the U.S. Mission to the International Civil Aviation Organization and a nonvoting member from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The panel would be required to submit a report to the FAA and Congress within 180 days of its first meeting, with any dissenting views attached, and the FAA would be required to publish the report online within five days of receipt.
“From the deadly DCA crash to the spike in near misses and air traffic control equipment outages, there are too many alarm bells ringing that we must strengthen safety in our aviation system,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said. “I’m proud that our legislation passed through committee and is now that much closer to ensuring that the FAA is optimizing effectiveness in its work to strengthen aviation safety and protect passengers and crew.”
During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., described the current FAA safety management approach in blunt terms.
“The FAA’s safety management system has been superficial at best,” Cantwell said. “When you have a safety problem, you have to stop and fix it.”
In the same hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators encountered reluctance from FAA personnel to share information related to operational safety during the agency’s review of last year’s mid-air DCA collision.
“We found numerous people were afraid to talk to us; they didn’t want to be formally interviewed,” Homendy said. “It’s not a good culture right now.”
The FAA has always been “cool” toward SMS. The “not invented here” attitude comes into play big time.