VAI President and CEO François Lassale opens the 2025 VAI Air Tour Safety Conference at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 21. ‘Safety Isn’t a Destination—It’s a Discipline’: Day 1 of VAI Air Tour Safety Conference Emphasizes Culture, Collaboration The two-day event brings together operators, regulators, OEMs, and other safety stakeholders to tackle today’s most pressing challenges in the vertical flight community. Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 21, 2025 – More than 100 vertical aviation air tour professionals are gathered at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas this week for the second annual Vertical Aviation International (VAI) Air Tour Safety Conference. The two-day event brings together operators, regulators, OEMs, and other safety stakeholders to tackle today’s most pressing challenges in the vertical flight community. VAI President and CEO François Lassale opened the conference with a reminder that safety remains the foundation of the industry. “Safety isn’t a destination—it’s a discipline,” he told attendees. “And it’s the foundation of who we are.” Building a Culture of Safety The morning keynote was delivered by veteran aviator Tim “TMac” McGuire, who drew on his 40-year career to underscore the importance of professionalism, personal wellness, and culture in achieving safety excellence. “Successful safety cultures must contain a reporting culture, a learning culture, a just culture, and a flexible culture,” he said. McGuire challenged attendees to lead by example. “Encourage each other,” he urged. “Model the behavior you want others to see. To thine own self be true—it’s not new, but it’s timeless.” Lessons from the Field 2024–25 VAI Board Chair Mark Schlaefli followed McGuire with a story that illustrated how complacency can lead to near-misses—even on routine operations. He described an incident in which a passenger extended a selfie stick out of a helicopter window during a Grand Canyon tour and damaged the skids of the AStar aircraft. “My main message today is that SMS [safety management system] programs are just words until they’re modeled from the top,” he said. “Only when leadership demonstrates those behaviors do companies truly improve their safety culture.” In an interactive session, safety expert Kim Hutchings of Volo Mission urged attendees to look beyond the numbers. Her talk, “Safety Records Can Lie: How Good Records Can Hide a Bad Culture,” challenged operators to examine not just their safety statistics but their overall organizational culture. “Don’t focus exclusively on safety culture,” she said. “Look at your company culture as a whole—because that’s what drives behavior.” Understanding Human Error Rounding out the morning, Airbus Helicopters’ Bruce Webb took a deep dive into the science of human error. “Human error is a complex subject,” he said. “Understanding our anatomy and physiology gives us clarity into why we make mistakes.” Webb reminded attendees that the goal isn’t perfection. “The goal is not error elimination but, rather, error management,” he said. “We are all cut from the same cloth, and we all share the same tendencies. The sooner you realize this, the greater your power will be to overcome them.” SMS Takes Center Stage In the afternoon sessions, the conversation turned to the FAA’s upcoming SMS mandate. A panel of air tour company leaders discussed how they’ve implemented SMS in their operations and what lessons can be shared with others who are preparing for the 2027 compliance deadline. Moderator Aaron Singer emphasized that SMS is transformative at every level of an organization. “When we started to implement SMS, there was a real shift,” said the CEO of Seaplane & Aero Adventures. “Everyone—from pilots and maintenance personnel to the reservations desk—became engaged. People felt empowered to bring issues up and to see them addressed together. It’s no longer a top-down process; it’s a communal one.” Singer encouraged smaller operators to get started now. “Even the big companies are still wrestling with implementation,” he noted. “No one has it all figured out—but the important thing is to begin. The clock is ticking.” Human Factors and Decision-Making Later sessions explored how human performance influences safety outcomes. TEMSCO Helicopters Director of Safety Joel Kain emphasized that human factors extend far beyond the traditional “Dirty Dozen.” “Human factors are intertwined with decision-making, organizational culture, and standardization,” Kain explained. “All of these elements are interconnected—and each can influence the others.” Scott Shappell, professor and chair of the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, examined how understanding biases and decision-making processes can help prevent accidents. “We can’t control our decisions if we don’t understand the biases that shape them,” he said. “But once we recognize those biases, we can manage them.” OEM Perspectives on Safety In a panel moderated by Shappell, senior leaders from major helicopter manufacturers shared how OEMs are advancing safety through technology, design, and training. Teri Short, VP of flight operations and engineering at Airbus Helicopters, discussed how Airbus is developing new video-based maintenance training tools to support the next generation of technicians. The discussion underscored the critical role of manufacturer–operator collaboration in addressing safety challenges across the air tour sector. Wrapping Up Day 1 Closing out the day, VAI 2025–26 VAI Board Chair and Boston MedFlight COO of Transport Rick Kenin led a Q&A session and recapped key themes. “We are coming up with new ways to prevent the next accident from happening,” he said, emphasizing the importance of leadership and shared accountability in maintaining a strong safety culture. As the first day of the Air Tour Safety Conference concluded, one message resonated clearly: safety isn’t a one-time goal but an ongoing commitment. And as the air tour community prepares for the challenges ahead—from human factors to SMS implementation—the discipline of safety remains at the heart of every discussion. Be sure to read about Day 2 of the conference in the Oct. 23 edition of VAI Daily.
