It’s OK to STAY Resources & Background Materials

Decision-Making Resources

56 Seconds to Live (USHST)
Explains the likely fatal outcome of continued VFR flight into deteriorating weather, resulting in loss of control, and emphasizes smart preflight and in-flight decisions.

Land & LIVE Program (VAI)
Encourages pilots to make precautionary landings when conditions become uncertain, often summed up by the well-known reminder to “land the damn helicopter!”

Helicopter Safety Enhancements (H-SEs) (USHST)
Provides a summary of all active and completed H-SEs, including the initiative promoting sound go/no-go decision-making that led directly to the It’s OK to STAY campaign.

Beyond the FRAT: Understanding risk management – Part 1 (Vertical, Jun. 11, 2018)

Beyond the FRAT: Learn to say no – Part 2 (Vertical, Aug. 10, 2018)

Beyond the FRAT: Golf & helicopters? – Part 3 (Vertical, Jul. 22, 2019)

Inadvertent / Unintended Flight into IMC Resources

A 360-Degree Approach to IIMC – article (ROTOR, March 2021)

Unintended IMC: What you can do before take-off (Together4Safety, 2023) Preflight preparation/FRAT, weather, enroute decision points, delay/turndown flight. 

IIMC Challenge (Airbus Helicopters)

IIMC Toolkit – poster | IIMC Toolkit – flyer (ROTOR, March 2021)

That Others May Live (Airbus Helicopters)

Preflight Planning Tools

1-800-WX-BRIEF (Leidos Flight Service)
Plan a flight, check weather, review hazards, and receive official preflight weather brief. 

Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (National Weather Service)
Feature-rich weather planning resource that expands on legacy HEMS Weather Tool

FAA Weather Cameras (FAA)
View an extensive network of weather cameras and other flight planning data.

Guides & Recommended Practices

Decision-Making and IIMC  (VAI, Mar. 2021)
Tips to help all VFR and IFR pilots intending to fly VFR remain safely in VMC.  

VFR Best Practices (VAI, Sep. 2021)
Recommended standards for safe helicopter operations operating under VFR.

Estimating Distance (VAI, Sep. 2021)
Provides tools for pilots to assess distance and closure rates for “see and avoid.”

Spatial Disorientation Induced by DVE (USHST H-SE 127A, Dec. 9, 2020)

Simulation Training for Aviation Decision Making (USHST H-SE 123, Apr. 28, 2020)

FAA Advisory Circular (AC) AC 60-22 Aeronautical Decision Making (FAA, Dec. 13, 1991) Risk Management Handbook (2022, FAA)
This handbook provides advanced training for pilots seeking a deeper understanding of risk management in the aviation environment.

Training Resources

VAI Online Academy (VAI learning management system)

56 Seconds to Live Awareness and Prevention Course (VAI Online Academy)

GA and Low-Level Weather Seminar (Rega)
Weather observations, cameras, and real-time reporting support confident go/no-go decisions when weather conditions fall below thresholds. 

USHST Roundtable on 56 Seconds to Live (HAI@WORK Webinar)

IIMC Training Course – Helicopter (Mountain View Helicopters)

Safety Boost Module (Airbus Helicopters) 

Spatial Disorientation: The Physiological Response of IIMC (Helicopter Institute Online)

Helicopter IIMC Fatal Accident Prevention (Helicopter Online Ground School LLC)

US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Resources

56 Seconds to Live  (USHST landing page)

Simulation Training for Aviation Decision Making (USHST H‑SE 123, Apr. 28, 2020)

Decision Making Single Pilot (EASA Community Network page with video)

Reel Safety: FRAT – Flight/Ground Risk Assessment Tool (USHST video)

Safety Bulletins/Airmanship Bulletins/Fact Sheets/Essays/Guides/Charts/Presentations

Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST) Resources

A Flight/Ground Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT/GRAT) (VAST | USHST, July 2014)

Decision Making for Single-Pilot Helicopter Operations (European Helicopter Safety Implementation Team, Jun. 2012)

7 Safety Tips that Every Helicopter Pilot Needs to Follow (IHST)

Personal Minimums (USHST)

Videos

You Should Always Have a Cardboard Box (Bruce Webb)
Remaining true to convictions could lead to a negative consequence like losing your job; however, that’s better than compromising safety. Do the right thing!

VIP Weather Decision Scenario: The Art of Saying No! (EASA, Nov. 14, 2025)How a pilot manages deteriorating weather and passenger expectations by adapting the plan, briefing alternatives, and prioritizing safety when conditions approach limits.

“Pressure Points”: Commercial Helicopter Pilot Decision Making (FAA)
Scenarios addressing weather, maintenance pressures, fuel/preflight planning, company pressures, and hazardous attitudes and contribute to pilot decision-making.

Just Say No (FAA Rotorcraft Collective)

Should I Stay or Should I Go? (VAI)
Informed decision-making: FRAT, aeromedical factors, weather, and external pressures.

56 Seconds to Live (USHST)

VIP Passenger Pressure Management (EASA Community)

Operational Pressure Meets Emotional Intelligence, by USHST (EASA Community)

Other OK to STAY Resources

The Bravest Man I Never Met (AvBrief.com, Jan. 13, 2026)
A reflective story illustrating that true professionalism in aviation is demonstrated by the confidence and integrity required to make the difficult decision not to fly.

VIP Passenger Pressure Management (EASA, Nov. 14, 2025)
How passenger expectations and perceived urgency can influence decisions and offering strategies with clear preflight communication and expectation-setting.

Operational Pressure Meets Emotional Intelligence (EASA | VAI, Jan. 29, 2025)  
Recognizing operational pressure and applying emotional intelligence helps pilots communicate effectively, manage expectations, and make sound decisions. 

Emotional Intelligence (EI) & Emotional Quotient (EQ)

VAI’s It’s OK to STAY campaign helps pilots set realistic expectations, communicate changing conditions, and make sound decisions, even when those decisions may not align with a customer’s preferences.

Skills such as empathetic listening, managing strong emotions, and clear communication are rarely taught in aviation, yet they are essential for handling pressure and making tough calls. These abilities are part of a broader capability known as Emotional Intelligence (EI).

Developing EI improves self-awareness, emotional regulation, and the ability to recognize and respond appropriately to others. For aviators, this directly supports better decision-making in high-pressure environments and strengthens professional relationships. Organizations also value individuals with a high Emotional Quotient (EQ) for their ability to handle complex situations with confidence and professionalism.

Below are resources to help aviation professionals strengthen self-awareness, communication, and emotional intelligence.

General information: Why is EI/EQ important?

EI Overview: the 4 domains and 12 competencies (Daniel Goleman website)
Outlines the domains and competencies of EI.

Emotional Intelligence Resources for All (Daniel Goleman post, LinkedIn, Mar. 24, 2025).

TED Talks

How to Talk About Your Feelings (Ted Talks Playlist)
10 TED Talks on mental well-being, emotional courage, and how to talk about feelings.

Free EI/EQ development activities and resources: Dive a little deeper into EI

7 Emotional Intelligence Activities (PositivePsychology.com)
Appropriate for managers/team leaders to use with teams. 

3 Simple Ways to Express Empathy in Your Next Conversation (Ideas.TED.com, How to Be a Better Human Series, Mar. 2, 2021).

5 Exercises to Help You Build More Empathy (Ideas.TED.com, How to Be a Better Human series, Mar. 16, 2021).

Fee-Paid Personal/Professional Development Courses and Intensives

LandmarkWorldwide.com
Uncovering your blind spots can transform your reality and redefine what’s possible.  

The Hoffman Process
Identifying negative patterns from your past will help you make significant positive changes in your present and future. In-person only.

EI/EQ-Specific and Communication/Leadership/Other Courses (fee-based)

Dale Carnegie resources
Courses available for individuals and teams, both in person and online, for a fee

Simon Sinek resources
Inexpensive courses on conflict resolution, leadership, and finding your WHY

Daniel Goleman resources
Learn from this well-known and experienced EI/EQ educator. Online courses only, for a fee.

SKYbrary Resources

Safety Behaviours: Human Factors for Pilots – CASA Safety Kit (Civil Aviation Safety Authority Australia, updated 16 Dec 2025)
A comprehensive guide explains how human factors influence pilot performance and safety outcomes, and how recognizing these influences can help prevent accidents.

Decision-Making (OGHFA BN) (Flight Safety Foundation)
This Operator’s Guide to Human Factors in Aviation Briefing Note (OGHFA BN) explains how aeronautical decision-making depends on situational awareness, human factors, and managing risk and pressure in complex, time-critical environments where poor go/no-go choices often initiate accident chains.

Operator’s Guide to Human Factors in Aviation Personal Qualities Checklist
Provides practical human factors checklists and decision models to help pilots assess personal readiness, recognize hazardous attitudes, and apply structured thinking to make safer operational decisions.

Decision Making for General Aviation Pilots: Safety Promotion Leaflet (European General Aviation Safety Team | EGAST)
A safety leaflet explaining how pilot judgment, human factors, weather awareness, and pressure influence go/no-go decisions, emphasizing that many accidents begin with decisions made before takeoff.

FOR-DEC Decision-Making Model  
A structured aviation decision-making framework that guides pilots through identifying facts, evaluating options and risks, making and executing a decision, and checking the outcome to improve situational awareness and sound judgment.

US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Reports

The following list is a representative sampling of US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) final reports of fatal accidents where US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) assessments of the final investigation reports indicate more conservative go/no-go decision-making could have potentially prevented the accident.

ERA15FA178 | Apr. 6, 2015 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s spatial disorientation during a low-level river crossing in rainy, gray, reduced visibility meteorological conditions, which resulted in the helicopter’s subsequent descent and impact with the water. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt the low-level crossing under those meteorological conditions.

WPR15LA193 | Jun. 20, 2015 | Probable Cause and Findings
The non-instrument-rated pilot’s visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in his spatial disorientation and loss of helicopter control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment by high-dose opioid use.

WPR16FA029 | Nov. 18, 2015 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s loss of control during landing on a dolly. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s decision to conduct the flight without an instructor despite multiple flight instructors’ recommendations to the contrary, his failure to land on the ramp when he experienced difficulty landing on the dolly, and his impaired decision-making, judgment, and psychomotor performance, due to his use of a combination of two psychoactive drugs.

WPR16FA040 | Dec. 15, 2015 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s loss of helicopter control in mountainous terrain as the result of operating the helicopter outside the performance envelope of its hydraulic system and encountering the servo transparency phenomenon. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to perform low-level, high-speed maneuvers through mountainous terrain.

CEN16FA315 | Aug. 9, 2016 | Probable Cause and Findings
The improper execution of an autorotation following the loss of engine power, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent into terrain. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s lack of remedial action during the autorotation.

CEN17FA100 | Feb. 6, 2017 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s failure to recognize the flight had encountered instrument meteorological conditions at night, which resulted in an unrecognized descent and collision with water.

CEN17FA103 | Feb. 15, 2017 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions resulted in spatial disorientation, loss of control, and subsequent impact with terrain.

ERA17FA190 | May 25, 2017 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s loss of helicopter control during a missed approach in instrument meteorological conditions due to spatial disorientation and the cumulative effects of task saturation.

WPR18FA074 | Jan. 17, 2018 | Probable Cause and Findings
A loss of control following the [net] gunner’s failure to ensure that the net maintained clearance from the tail rotor [for animal capture]. At the time of the accident, nearby airports were reporting wind gusts between 23 and 35 knots.

WPR18MA087 | Feb. 10, 2018 | Probable Cause and Findings
A loss of tail rotor effectiveness, the pilot’s subsequent loss of helicopter control, and collision with terrain during an approach to land in gusting, tailwind conditions in an area of potential downdrafts and turbulence.

CEN18FA391 | Sep. 28, 2018 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s failure to maintain main rotor speed after setting the engine fuel control to idle, which resulted in a loss of helicopter control and impact with water.

ERA19FA035 | Oct. 30, 2018 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s failure to keep the helicopter clear of a utility pole while hovering with a tailwind, which resulted in a dynamic rollover into active power lines.

WPR19FA148 | May 17, 2019 | Probable Cause and Findings
The noninstrument-rated pilot’s continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was hypoxia due to the high altitude at which the pilot chose to conduct the flight combined with the impairing effects of amphetamine use.

CEN19FA185 | Jun. 28, 2019 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s spatial disorientation during an instrument approach in dark night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent impact with terrain.

ERA19FA210 | Jul. 4, 2019 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilots’ decision to take off over water in dark night conditions with no external visual reference, which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent collision with the water. Also causal was the pilots’ failure to adequately monitor their instruments and respond to multiple EGPWS warnings to arrest the helicopter’s descent. Contributing to the pilots’ decision was external pressure to complete the flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilots’ lack of night flying experience from the island and their inadequate crew resource management.

ANC20MA010 NTSB/AIR-22-05 | Dec. 26, 2019 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s decision to continue flight under visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), which resulted in the collision into terrain. Contributing to the accident was Safari Aviation Inc.’s lack of safety management processes to identify hazards and mitigate the risks associated with factors that influence pilots to continue VFR flight into IMC. Also contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s delayed implementation of a Hawaii aviation weather camera program, its lack of leadership in the development of a cue-based weather training program for Hawaii air tour pilots, and its ineffective monitoring and oversight of Hawaii air tour operators’ weather-related operating practices.

DCA20MA059 AAR-21-01 | Jan. 26, 2020 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s likely self-induced pressure and the pilot’s plan continuation bias, which adversely affected his decision-making, and Island Express Helicopters Inc.’s inadequate review and oversight of its safety management processes.

ERA20LA220 | Jun. 18, 2020 | Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s failure to see and avoid a small diameter wire during low altitude agricultural spraying operations. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s insufficient property survey. “The pilot, unfamiliar with the field, running late, and without the benefit of a detailed discussion with the landowner, relied solely on his brief visual surveillance of the field while operating the helicopter.”