Background: Safety Management System implementation within aerodrome environments presents profound and persistent challenges in developing economy contexts, where regulatory capacity, financial resources, organizational safety cultures, and inspector competency differ substantially from those of high-income aviation markets where SMS frameworks were primarily conceived, validated, and disseminated through regulatory guidance materials (Mc & Sanders, 1982) Methods: This paper proposes an Adaptive SMS Implementation Model built on a Capacity Assessment Index that stratifies aerodromes into three proportionate implementation tiers. A Progressive Advancement Pathway sequences SMS component implementation through verifiable maturity transition criteria grounded in inspection evidence and safety culture assessment outcomes across the regulated aerodrome portfolio Results: The ASIM preserves fidelity to the ICAO four-pillar SMS architecture while introducing scaling mechanisms calibrated to aerodrome operational complexity, financial capacity, staff establishment, and compliance history. The framework is grounded in regulatory oversight evidence across twenty-five to thirty aerodromes within the Nigerian civil aviation system over a six-year oversight period Conclusion: The ASIM provides civil aviation authorities with a principled and empirically grounded basis for differentiating SMS oversight requirements across heterogeneous aerodrome populations without abandoning the universal safety management principles that ICAO Annex 19 establishes as binding on all contracting states regardless of development status
Oluwabukola Oluwapelumi Adeyelu (Thu,) studied this question.