Definition
A structured set of processes, tools, and oversight procedures used to plan, coordinate, track, and control the activities and resources of an aviation program through its life cycle.
Plain English
A system for keeping a big aviation project organized — making sure each part is planned, watched, and finished on time and on budget.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists and administrative aviation material, not usually as a cockpit control or flight procedure.
Why Pilots Care
Recognizing PMS prevents a pilot from treating the abbreviation as an aircraft system or flight instruction when it is really referring to project or program administration.
Intuition Check
Do not read PMS here as a cockpit device or a pilot action. In this context, it means an administrative system for managing a program.
Example Sentence 1
The avionics upgrade was tracked through the operator's program management system to keep schedule and cost under control.
Example Sentence 2
Updates to the PMS ensured all safety milestones were tracked during the certification effort.