FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - April

May 13
3 min read

Updated: May 20

Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for April 2026 (seventh month of FY26).

(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”, “USHST Metrics”, or “Make Model Breakdown” for access to all 4 pages of visualized and interactive data.

Monthly Summary

April Totals: 5 accidents, 0 fatal accidents, 0 fatalities

- For the first time in the FY, there were not any fatal accidents/fatalities during the month.

- The five total accidents during the month:

-- Were distributed across five different industry sectors.

-- Tied for the second lowest monthly total of the FY.

-- Marked only the fourth time in the last 44 FYs where 5 or fewer total accidents occurred during April.

FY26 Summary

FY26 Totals: 41 accidents, 11 fatal accidents, 21 fatalities

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

- The FY26 estimated accident rate for Oct-Apr was 2.41 per 100K hours (19% lower than the same period in FY25 and 28% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).

- Distribution of accidents by Operating Part so far in FY26:

-- Part 91 – 68%, Part 133 – 5%, Part 135 – 17%, Part 137 – 2%. Remaining accidents: 7% operated as Public Use aircraft.

- The 41 accidents in FY26 have occurred in nine different industry sectors. The top three percentages to date were: 1) Personal/Private: 39%, 2) Helicopter Air Ambulance: 17%, 3) Aerial Observation: 12%

Fatal Accidents:

- The FY26 estimated fatal accident rate for Oct-Apr was 0.65 per 100K hours (18% lower than the same period in FY25 and 5% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).

- Distribution of fatal accidents by Operating Part so far in FY26:

-- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 9%, Part 135 – 27%, Part 137 – 0%. Remaining fatal accidents: 9% operated as Public Use aircraft.

- The 11 fatal accidents in FY26 have occurred in the following six industry sectors: 1) Personal/Private: 36%, 2) (tie) Helicopter Air Ambulance & Utilities Patrol/Construction: each w/18%, 3) (tie) Air Tour/Sightseeing, Instructional/Training, Law Enforcement: each w/9%

Fatalities:

- The FY26 estimated occupant fatality rate for Oct-Apr was 1.23 per 100K hours (32% lower than the same period in FY25 and 12% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).

- Through 7 months, 27% of the rotorcraft accidents in FY26 had a fatality (long term historical percentage is 17-18%).

- Distribution of fatalities by Operating Part so far for FY26:

-- Part 91 – 62%, Part 133 – 5%, Part 135 – 24%, Part 137 – 0%. Remaining fatalities: 10% operated as Public Use aircraft.

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, CY2022-2026 (per 100K hours)
91	0.81	0.73 (10% reduction)	0.48
133	1.73	1.56 (10% reduction)	0.95
135	0.33	0.17 (50% reduction)	0.42
137	1.11	1.00 (10% reduction)	1.05