Successful Failure: Where Positive Outcomes Invite Disaster

Rotor Safety Challenge (RSC)
Tracks: Safety; Operations
Instructor: Susan Gidding (primary) and Brody Payne (second speaker)

This session highlights how cognitive preconceptions influence aviation decision-making and ultimately flight safety. Essentials of flawed decision-making leading to strategic errors and negatively impacting operational outcomes are discussed. An awareness of an individual’s systematic decision process is a valuable tool for anyone working in the aviation industry. Learn how to use counter-factual thinking when assessing the individual decision-making process.

Instructor Bio

Susan Gidding is the senior director of quality management at Life Flight Network. She has worked in the air medical industry for 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in health science with an emphasis in health policy. She has presented at national healthcare quality, patient safety, and aviation conferences. Topics included quality management, human factors, a just culture, crew resource management (CRM), TeamSTEPPS, crew and patient safety, highly reliable organizations, and root cause analysis.

Brody Paine is the director of safety and risk management at Life Flight Network. He is a graduate of the Safety Management Training Academy and completed graduate work at the University of Southern California (USC) Aviation Safety and Security program. Brody holds an airline transport pilot (ATP) license with seven type ratings. He is a veteran US Marine Corps (USMC) officer whose aviation career covers more than 20 years, including positions as director of safety and program director for aerial firefighting and emergency medical services (EMS) operations.