FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - March

USHST,

Attached is the FAA’s Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for March 2021 (sixth month of FY21).

Monthly Summary

Totals: 9 accidents, 2 fatal accidents, 6 fatalities

- Of the 9 accidents during the month, 5 involved the personal/private industry segment.

- Of the 6 fatalities during the month, 5 were on 1 accident (planned heli-skiing flight in AK).

Cumulative FY21 Summary (Oct – Mar)

FY21, Totals: 44 accidents, 5 fatal accidents, 13 fatalities

Accidents:

- For Oct – Mar, the estimated accident rate was 2.99 per 100K hours.

- The cumulative accident count of 44 for Oct – Mar was the third lowest count in the last 39 FYs, but trailed both FY19 and FY20.

- The number of personal/private accidents continues to trend as disproportionately high compared to previous FYs.

- The 19 personal/private accidents represent 43% of the total FY21 accidents for Oct – Mar (historically 20-25%). The personal/private accident count is 3 times higher than the next closest industry category.

Fatal Accidents:

- For Oct – Mar, the estimated fatal accident rate was 0.34 per 100K hours.

- FY21 had the second lowest number of fatal accidents from Oct – Mar for the 39 years on record.

- FY21 is one of only 2 years in the last 39 FYs with 5 or less fatal accidents after 6 months of the FY. FY88 was the other, with 4 fatal accidents.

- The 5 fatal accidents have been in 5 different industry segments.

- Through 9 months, 11% of the accidents in the FY have had a fatality, tied for the second lowest percentage for an Oct – Mar for the 39 years on record.

Fatalities:

- For Oct – Feb, the estimated fatality rate was 0.88 per 100K hours.

- FY21 had the second lowest number of fatalities from Oct – Mar for the 39 years on record.

- FY21 is one of only 4 years in the last 39 FYs with less than 15 fatalities after 6 months of the FY.

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

- Goal: Reduce the 5 year average fatal accident rate to 0.55 per 100K hours by 2025. The USHST uses the fatal accident rate from CYs 2014-2018 (5 year average of 0.62 per 100K hours) as their baseline for measurement.

- The CY 2017-2021 5 year average fatal accident rate was 0.7 per 100K hours.

- For the years that will be included in the USHST’s final measurement in 2025 (CY 2020-2021), the average fatal accident rate was 0.6 per 100K hours.

Lee Roskop

Detailed to Strategic Policy Rotorcraft Section, AIR-616 (Jan – Jun, 2021)

Safety Risk Management Section, AIR-633 Systems Policy Branch, Policy & Innovation Division 817-222-5337 lee.roskop@faa.gov

We value your feedback. Click here to send us your feedback.