John Nance

John J. Nance is a New York Times bestselling author, military pilot, licensed attorney, and recognized authority on aviation and healthcare safety in the United States. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Nance served in Vietnam as well as in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He has piloted a range of jet aircraft, including 727s, 737s, 747s, and Air Force C-141s, and has logged more than 15,000 hours of flight time since earning his first pilot license. Nance worked as a flight officer for Braniff International Airlines and as a Boeing 737 captain for Alaska Airlines, and is known internationally as an advocate for air safety.

Nance played a key role in advancing Crew Resource Management, a safety revolution in aviation focused on professional communication, teamwork, and leadership. His book on safety in human systems, "Blind Trust," is credited with influencing the widespread adoption of Crew Resource Management principles in aviation and the integration of these lessons into medical practice. Nance is a founder of the National Patient Safety Foundation and has served on its executive committee. He originated the Red Cover Reports, a series of analyses and recommendations based on National Transportation Safety Board accident reports, providing in-depth, neutral analysis of healthcare harm for caregivers and patients.

His book "Why Hospitals Should Fly" received the American College of Healthcare Executives Book of the Year Award and contributed to the application of aviation safety principles in medicine. Nance is also the author of "Charting the Course: Launching Patient-Centric Healthcare," which explores the use of aviation-derived safety strategies in healthcare and patient safety. His body of work includes 22 major books, with five nonfiction titles and 15 international fiction bestsellers, including "Final Approach," "Pandora's Clock," "Medusa's Child," "The Last Hostage," "Turbulence," "Skyhook," "Fire Flight," and "Orbit." "Pandora's Clock" and "Medusa's Child" were adapted as two-part television miniseries. The novel "Blackout" was named one of the best novels of the year by Los Angeles Times.

Nance has served as a broadcast analyst and advocate for medical and aviation safety with ABC, and has appeared on national programs including Oprah, PBS News Hour, Today, and CNN. He is also recognized for his contributions to aviation and history programs such as "Air Disasters" (Mayday) and "The UnXplained." His editorials have appeared in newspapers nationwide, including Los Angeles Times and USA Today, and he has been listed in Who's Who in America.

As a professional speaker, Nance has delivered thousands of presentations to corporations, hospitals, military groups, government departments, and medical organizations on three continents. He addresses topics such as aviation and patient safety, teamwork, risk management, and organizational culture change to prevent catastrophic error. Nance's experience in aviation safety and crisis analysis informs his work on complex systems, risk management, and organizational leadership.