FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - April

Lee Roskop
May 7
3 min read

Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for April 2025 (seventh month of FY25).

(Covers Part 27, Part 29, and Restricted Category rotorcraft accidents to U.S. registered aircraft. Does not include gyrocopters or experimental aircraft.)

Please access the information from this briefing directly anytime at the FAA’s publicly available, Rotorcraft Accident Dashboard.

Find “Dashboard Navigation” near the top of the default page and click either “Historical Briefing” or “Make Model Breakdown” for access to all 3 pages of visualized and interactive data.

Monthly Summary

April Totals: 5 accidents, 1 fatal accident, 6 fatalities

- The 5 accidents were the lowest for the month of April since FY15 and only the third time in the 43 FYs on record with 5 or less accidents during April.

- The 6 fatalities all occurred in a single accident (air tour/sightseeing flight).

- The fatality total was the highest for the month of April since FY06 and only the fourth time in the 43 FYs on record with more than 5 fatalities during the month of April.

FY25 Summary

FY25 Totals: 49 accidents, 13 fatal accidents, 30 fatalities

Accidents (includes both fatal & non-fatal accidents):

- The FY25 estimated accident rate for Oct-Apr was 2.97 per 100K hours (4% lower than the same period in FY24 and 5% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).

- 31% of the accidents so far in FY25 have been in the personal/private industry sector, a percentage two times higher than the next closest industry sector.

- Distribution of accidents by Operating Part for FY25 through April was:

-- Part 91 – 61%, Part 133 – 4%, Part 135 – 14%, Part 137 – 8%. Remaining accidents: 4% operated as public aircraft and 8% operated outside the U.S.

Fatal Accidents:

- The FY25 estimated fatal accident rate for Oct-Apr was 0.79 per 100K hours (59% higher than the same period in FY24 and 18% higher than the 5-year average for the same period).

- Industry sectors with more than one fatal accident from Oct – Apr were: Personal/Private (5 total), Helicopter Air Ambulance (2 total), Air Tour/Sightseeing (2 total, both operated Part 91)

- Distribution of fatal accidents by Operating Part for FY25 through April was:

-- Part 91 – 54%, Part 133 – 0%, Part 135 – 15%, Part 137 – 8%. Remaining fatal accidents: 8% operated as public aircraft and 15% operated outside the U.S.

Fatalities:

- The FY25 estimated fatality rate for Oct-Apr was 1.82 per 100K hours (73% higher than the same period in FY24, 26% higher than the 5-year average for the same period).

- The consecutive months of March and April together accounted for 12 fatalities, the highest two-month fatality total since July and August of 2023 (14 fatalities).

- 27% of the rotorcraft accidents from Oct - Apr had a fatality. The percentage would be the highest on record if it continues through the end of the FY.

- Distribution of fatalities by Operating Part for FY25 through April was:

-- Part 91 – 60%, Part 133 – 0%, Part 135 – 20%, Part 137 – 3%. Remaining fatalities: 3% on public aircraft and 13% on aircraft operated outside the U.S.

U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Calendar Year Metrics

The USHST’s 5-year goals for 2025-2029 are based on individual 14 CFR Operating Parts, tracked by the 5-year average fatal accident rates per 100K hours.

14 CFR Part	Baseline, CY2018-2022 (per 100K hours)	Goal, CY2025-2029 (per 100K hours)	Progress, CY2021-2025 (per 100K hours)
91	0.81	0.73 (10% reduction)	0.62
133	1.73	1.56 (10% reduction)	0.40
135	0.33	0.17 (50% reduction)	0.35
137	1.11	1.00 (10% reduction)	1.50