Presage Attends the 2026 Business Aviation Safety Summit

Presage Group, Inc. was pleased to attend the 2026 Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS) in Provo, Utah this May. Dr. Brooke Linden, Director of Research for Presage was joined on stage by Dr. Aric Raus of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Dr. Brett Wyrick, Deputy U.S. Federal Air Surgeon for the FAA, and moderator, Capt. Peter Whitten, a Director with Odilia Clark, for a panel discussion titled “Fit for Flight: Acting on Mental Health Data to Deliver Real Well-Being Solutions in Aviation.”

During the session, panelists discussed pilots’ unwillingness to disclose mental health related challenges due to a long-standing culture of perceived stigma and a significant fear of being grounded. Highlighted issues included the need for the aviation industry to move from a “blame culture” to a “just culture,” reducing overall mental illness-related stigma, and taking an upstream, early intervention approach to support pilots’ well-being.

Dr. Wyrick detailed some of the steps the FAA has taken in recent years to begin to change the narrative around what disclosing mental health challenges might mean for pilots. With the ultimate goal of keeping pilots flying, the FAA has made significant reductions to the wait times following disclosures (now a 60 day turnaround) and has approved of multiple SSRI and SNRI medications to treat non-complicated depression and anxiety. Dr. Raus emphasized the need for trust and privacy within organizations – particularly in small operations. Drs. Raus and Linden both noted that the shift from a “blame culture” to a more supportive, “just culture” is imperative – something that can only be achieved by engaging genuinely with employees and starting at the top, with organizational leadership paving the way. Panelists noted that a lack of trust leads to both increased stigma and a much lower likelihood of help seeking.

Dr. Linden emphasized the need for a collaborative, holistic approach to supporting pilots’ mental health and well-being moving forward, introducing Presage’s Fit for Flight as a potential solution. Fit for Flight is the only customizable, digital mental health tool that works upstream to intervene early and mitigate both mental health degradation and safety risk by leveraging scientific research and decades of experience in pilot decision-making and situational awareness.

To learn more about Fit for Flight, click here. To watch Dr. Linden’s speaking points during the BASS 2026 panel discussion, see the video below.

Thank you to BASS for hosting the event and for all who attended, asked questions, and contributed to an excellent conference!