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Part 135 · Safety manager · 14 CFR Part 5

Outsourced Part 135 Director of Safety: What Can Be Handed Off

Reviewed

Direct answer

A Part 135 operator must have an accountable executive and enough management personnel to coordinate its SMS (14 CFR 5.25), with the SMS in place by May 28, 2027 (5.9); the accountable executive cannot be outsourced, but the records work behind the safety job can. FileFlo's Aviation Compliance Department runs the crew-records side of the Director of Operations, Chief Pilot and Safety Manager jobs for $2,500 a month for up to 10 aircraft.

Hand FileFlo the crew-records side of the job. Your signers stay the signers.

Start your aviation compliance department

The FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department: $2,500 a month for up to 10 aircraft, with a 3-month minimum. Month to month after that.

The FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department

2026 pricing, through December 31, 2026

The FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department works from the same pilot records, the same clocks and the same Wyvern-tagged export as every FileFlo plan. Start by December 31, 2026 and your first month is free, then $2,500 a month.

  • Part 135 aviation, up to 10 aircraft: First month free if you start by Dec 31, then $2,500 a month.

Onboarding follows a defined process. At 90 days we review results with you.

Applied automatically at checkout on the monthly plan. Your price lock and first month back guarantee are unchanged; where the first month is free, there is nothing to refund: if FileFlo does not deliver in month 1, cancel before month 2 and you never pay. 2026 pricing ends December 31, 2026.

What it means for your business

Your certificate
The SMS deadline is May 28, 2027 for every Part 135 certificate holder, any fleet size (5.9).
Your DO's week
Every hour your Director of Operations spends on records is an hour not spent on the operation.
Your charter sales
ARGUS and Wyvern auditors sample the same crew records the FAA does. Kept current, they serve both.
Your payroll
The FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department at $2,500 a month is $30,000 a year ($25,000 on annual), against $125,000 to $145,000 a year for a safety or training hire at a Part 135 operator.

What FileFlo does about it, today

  • In the FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department, FileFlo runs the crew-records side of your Director of Operations, Chief Pilot and Safety Manager jobs, chases every check and medical before it is due and keeps the monthly ARGUS and Wyvern upkeep list. Your signers stay the signers.
  • Each pilot's checks, recurrent training and medical are computed from the records you hold and cited to the rule, in calendar months with base-month crediting.
  • The pilot and the office are asked at 45, 14 and 3 days before a check, medical or annual is due, with office copies to the Director of Operations.
  • OpSpecs, manuals, management personnel records, SMS documents and the Part 120 program documents are filed and shown as on file.
  • An audit packet with the per-pilot currency matrix and each document's standing, and an inspector link scoped to one tail or one crew.
  • An export of crew currency, training and aircraft records as of one date, tagged to the Wyvern Wingman clauses and the ARGUS audit categories, prepared for the audit. It is the evidence, not a certification.

FileFlo is the compliance desk beside your Director of Operations.

Done for you: The FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department: $2,500 a month for up to 10 aircraft, with a 3-month minimum. The Aviation Compliance Department

What stays with you, and what hands off

  • Stays: the accountable executive, who signs the safety policy and holds final authority (14 CFR 5.25(a), (b)).
  • Stays: your required managers under 14 CFR 119.69: Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, Director of Maintenance.
  • Hands off: the records. Training, checks, medicals and the SMS documents filed, dated and chased, and the audit export ready.

Sources

Checked Written by the FileFlo compliance team

Questions

Does a Part 135 operator need a Director of Safety?

Part 119 requires a Director of Operations, a Chief Pilot and a Director of Maintenance for a Part 135 operator (14 CFR 119.69). Part 5 adds an accountable executive and enough management personnel to coordinate the SMS (14 CFR 5.25), with the SMS in place by May 28, 2027 (5.9). Many operators give that SMS job the title Director of Safety or Safety Manager.

Can the safety job be outsourced?

The accountable executive cannot: that person holds final authority and ultimate responsibility (14 CFR 5.25(a)). The FAA says a third party could operate some parts of the SMS on the operator's behalf (89 FR 33068). The records work is the part that outsources best.

What does the FileFlo Aviation Compliance Department do?

It runs the crew-records side of your Director of Operations, Chief Pilot and Safety Manager jobs: files training-center records as they arrive, plans recurrent training and medicals and chases each one before it is due, prepares your Pilot Records Database reports for your PRD user to submit, keeps the monthly ARGUS and Wyvern upkeep list, and sends the owner a monthly report. $2,500 a month for up to 10 aircraft, 3-month minimum.

Who signs?

Your people. FileFlo prepares; your Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, Safety Manager and PRD user stay the responsible signers and submitters.

What is 2026 pricing for the Compliance Department?

For Part 135 aviation, a start by December 31, 2026 on the monthly plan gets the first month free, applied automatically at checkout, then $2,500 a month from month 2.

Does 2026 pricing change the price lock or the guarantee?

No. Start by December 31, 2026 and you keep today's list price for as long as your plan stays active, and the first month back guarantee is the same. The 2026 discount comes on top of both. Where the first month is free (aviation, and written quotes at 26 to 100 trucks), there is nothing to refund: if FileFlo does not deliver in month 1, cancel before month 2 and you never pay.

Does 2026 pricing apply to the annual plan?

No. The annual plan is already the lowest first-year cost: $25,000 a year for aviation.

What happens at 90 days?

We review results with you: what was built and filed, what was fixed, and what is due next.