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Unsafe. Underdelivered: Why LZ Safety is Broken—And How We Fix It
We’re Still Getting LZ Training Wrong—What the Data Shows (And Why It’s Worse Than You Think)
Jake R. Harmon
Maverick Helicopters
Landing zone (LZ) safety training is a critical, yet often overlooked, aspect of air medical transport risk management. While fly-in PR events and occasional classroom sessions have long been used to train ground personnel, recent data suggests that these efforts are not only outdated—they’re dangerously ineffective. In fact, today’s EMS and hospital-based teams may have less LZ safety knowledge than participants in the 2009 NIH study that first validated online training methods.
This session delivers a high-impact, non-commercial exploration of how and why LZ training is failing, and what air medical teams can do to modernize their approach. Using new field data collected from hundreds of EMS/fire departments and hospital partners across the U.S., the presentation will uncover shocking training gaps, real-world risks, and missed opportunities in safety outreach.
Interactive elements will include real audience polling on LZ decision-making scenarios, a short training effectiveness quiz, and live feedback discussion on common misconceptions seen in the field. Attendees will gain immediately actionable strategies for improving their own program’s LZ safety posture—without overhauling budgets or operations.
Whether you're a program director, safety officer, pilot, or clinical leader, this session will challenge assumptions and equip you with smarter, evidence-based tools to reduce risk, improve collaboration with ground teams, and strengthen safety culture—before the next avoidable landing zone incident occurs.
System Breakdown: The Not-So-Hidden Costs of the Silos Mentality
Karen Charlton, MSN, MBA, RN, CFRN, CCRN, CEN, CNRN; Hannah R. Castro, MTSP-C, CADS, CFC, MS and Garth Hope-Melnick, FP-C, BA
Life Flight Network
Flight program structure can be visualized as a system comprised of multiple smaller systems ( departments). Each department plays a specific role in allowing the larger system to function efficiently. Silos can offer the benefit of structure, allowing the delineation of authority and responsibility while working towards departmental goals. Structure creates boundaries which in turn can create a sense of identity and accountability.
While silos do provide some benefit, they also provide an environment in which individual objectives, goals, and responsibilities take priority over the organizations common goals and mission In the air medical industry, silos create barriers to the free flow of information, fracture trust, lower employee morale, and decrease operational efficiency. Quality of care provided is effected, safety systems break down, and a the cultural silos that have historically plagued healthcare continue to be reenforced.
Participants will have the opportunity to identify and discuss cultural and operational silos that exist within the air medical industry, negative outcomes associated with managerial complacency, and brainstorm ways flight programs can mitigate the risk posed by the silos mindset to both employees and patients. While a plethora of research exists on silos within healthcare delivery, participants will have the opportunity to share their own experiences with the silos mentality, positive and negative experiences, as well as lessons learned while navigating their experiences.
Avoiding Accidents on the Road to Abilene
Kenneth Cerney, Commercial Pilot, MBTI Master Practitioner, MEPD
The saying all to say GO – 1 to say NO is a well-known slogan for HAA crews to use as a means of expressing how everyone on the crew has a say in whether to take a flight or not. But how does someone speak up if they feel they can’t or are not willing to speak up for any number of personal and organizational reasons? With increasing risks, fear and stress, both personal and organizational pressure to fly increases. When that happens, this well-known HAA crew saying might instead turn into the far more dangerous “ALL say GO, Because NO-ONE said NO” due to something called the “Abilene Paradox”. Whether in the helicopter, the emergency department, the office or at home, the Abilene paradox can lead to annoying, time consuming, and in the world of HAA, disastrous results for teams, crews, patients, or bystanders.
Learn how you may have the best right answer to stop a tragedy by speaking up. Bring your smart phone and participate in live polling that we will compare to results from previous AMTC and VAI Verticon classes.
A Different Approach to Survival Training
Chip Henderson, MBA, CMTE, SMTP
Nationwide Children's Hospital
As technology has improved in the helicopter and HAA industry, the way in which we train to survive a helicopter accident should evolve as well. Many programs still focus "Survival Training" on wilderness survival skills - in the unlikely event a crew is stranded in a remote area for an extended period. A lot of attention is spent on tasks such as fire building, erecting a shelter or finding fresh water. What often gets little or no attention is the importance of training on pre-flight preparation should an accident occur, immediate actions if faced with an in-flight emergency or crash landing, and the steps involved in facilitating rescue and recovery.
This presentation will discuss the Post-Accident/Incident process and how to tie accident survival training into this system. This session will include the outline of a hands-on training program any HAA provider can use to ensure flight teams are equipped with the best tools possible to improve the odds of survival should they be involved in a helicopter accident.
Why Didn’t You Tell Me?: The Pressure to Fly, Human Factors, Heroism & Hubris
Russell Griffin, Ph.D. Candidate, MBA
American Heart Association - RQI Partners, LLC
Everyone goes home except for when we don’t…
This presentation explores the hidden forces shaping safety decisions in high-risk occupations, from organizational pressures and human factors to cognitive biases and the fine line between heroism and hubris. While crew members are trained to speak up to prevent harm, powerful forces, including the pressure to fly, crew loyalty, and unspoken expectations, can create an environment where safety concerns are overridden or ignored.
Drawing from original field research and accident investigations, this session combines insights from psychology, organizational behavior, and real-world decision-making factors contributing to the latest research in safety voice and risk perception. This includes novel insights on-air medical providers conducted as part of doctoral research examining the role of safety culture, silence motives, and decision-making under pressure in HEMS operations.
Using an evidence-based and interactive approach, attendees will learn:
This session will challenge attendees to rethink safety leadership, build a robust safety culture, and implement practical communication strategies to prevent future accidents.