The OM should provide all the instructions that personnel need. This includes the corporate structure, duties and responsibilities of personnel, safety policy, risk management, compliance monitoring and emergency response.Įach operator’s OM should be specific to their operation.

This means everything from flight planning, passenger handling and ground operations to security procedures, health precautions, and flight time limitations.Īs well as describing how aircraft are operated the OM also describes the aircraft operator’s organisation. It’s for operator personnel so that they know how to do their jobs.Īn OM includes instructions and information for pilots to fly aircraft and the other information necessary to operate the aircraft. The OM must be submitted to the competent authority, and parts must be approved, but the manual is not for the authority. A good OM will describe what to do and how to do it. The OM needs to do more than reproduce the regulations it needs to include instructions for personnel. A difference between the OM and regulations does not provide an excuse to deviate from the regulations, even if the competent authority has accepted the OM. Personnel following the procedures in the OM need to know that they won’t break any regulations. The OM must be aligned with the regulations. The regulations say, “ the content of the OM shall be presented in a form that can be used without difficulty”. A good OM will give clear instructions for company personnel to follow, including, where necessary, detailed step-by-step procedures. The OM should contain “ all necessary instructions, information and procedures for all aircraft operated and for operations personnel to perform their duties”.

Sample aviation sms manual