VAI Aerial Work Safety Conference Agenda

AWSC 2026 Preliminary Agenda

*Agenda topics, dates, and times are subject to change*

Industry Advisory Council Day: A dedicated IAC day for current members of the VAI Aerial Firefighting, UPAC, and RECA Industry Advisory Councils to come together under one roof. Don’t miss your chance to connect, compare notes, and identify shared challenges and tangible solutions across the industry.

Straight from the Agencies: Hear directly from leadership at the U.S. Forest Service and the newly established U.S. Wildland Fire Service on the most significant hazards they’ve faced this past year and what’s ahead. FAA representatives join in too, with updates on pending agency actions, the approaching SMS Compliance declaration deadline, and safety performance metrics you need to know.

Keynote: Willful Blindness and Safety Drift: Presented by Matthew West, President & Principal Consultant, Hawk AeroSafety. Safety rarely erodes overnight. Instead, it slowly drifts. Learn how organizations unknowingly normalize risk over time and get equipped with practical strategies to spot and reverse safety drift before it costs you.

Keynote: Training or Learning? Presented by Bruce Webb, Senior Director of Education & Community Outreach, Airbus. What’s the difference between checking a training box and actually learning? Bruce Webb unpacks how safety culture erodes through subtle shifts in judgment and decision-making, and how to build a culture that catches it before it becomes routine.

Panel: Wires are Everywhere – Why Wire Strike Risk Doesn’t Discriminate by Mission A gripping, no-holds-barred session featuring four pilots with firsthand experience of wire strikes — from witnessing a fatal accident to surviving impacts to challenging industry assumptions about wire strike protection. This is the panel that could change how you think about low-level flight forever.

More Voices, More Solutions This year we’re expanding interactive engagement across multiple sessions — so you’re not just listening, you’re weighing in. Give real-time feedback, crowdsource solutions, and help shape answers to the industry’s toughest safety challenges as they happen.

Don’t miss it — register today and be part of the conversation shaping the future of aerial work safety.