2026 AACA Safety Summit

The 2026 AACA Safety Summit, sponsored by Bering Air, will be held February 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the BP Energy Center.

Sponsored By

The 2026 AACA Safety Summit is open solely to air carrier employees to ensure a safe space where mistakes and lessons learned can be shared to further aviation safety across our industry.

As part of our annual convention and with generous sponsorship by Bering Air, we are hosting the 2026 AACA Safety Summit on February 3rd from 9 AM to 1 PM in the Birch Room at the BP Energy Center.

The free event is open to the leadership (owners/CEOs, DOs, CPs, DOMs, DOS, etc.) of all air carriers across the state. Those individuals may choose to bring any other employees with them to the meeting.

The purpose of the summit is to share knowledge and lessons learned to improve safety across our industry. We use the Chatham House Rule to ensure privacy — the meeting is open only to air carriers — to create a safe space where mistakes can be shared without fear of repercussions.

2026 Safety Summit Draft Agenda 

9:00 AM – Welcome & Introductions | Will Day

• Quick introductions (name, role, company, purpose for attending)
• Summit purpose: share knowledge across carriers to improve operational safety

9:15 AM – Just Culture & Safety | Jeremy Horn, Managing Director of Safety, Horizon Air

• How a shared Just Culture framework strengthens safety across the industry

10:00 AM – Lessons Learned (2025) | Moderator: Will Day

• Part 135 carrier presentation – pending confirmation
• Bering Air: Lessons learned from their 2025 accident – Brian Weckwerth, Director of Safety
• Q&A after each session
• Open floor for lessons learned with time remaining

11:00 AM – Red Cross Support Overview

• Bridget Vivoda & Kelin Hickey, Red Cross Alaska
• Points of contact and available services for carriers following an accident

11:30 AM – Break

• Refreshments

11:45 AM – Transportation Disaster Assistance | Kim Frierson, Transportation Disaster Operations Coordinator, NTSB (Virtual)

• Overview of Family Assistance and discussion of the Spring seminar

12:30 PM – Go‑Team Readiness | Joe Reid (NAC), Nanci Dupier (Aleutian/Sterling), and Juli Eichler (Grant)

• Preparing for carrier accident/incident response