FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - May

Lee Roskop
Jun 3
3 min read

Updated: Jun 17

Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for May 2025 (eighth 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

May Totals: 3 accidents, 1 fatal accident, 1 fatality

- The 3 accidents were the lowest total for the month of May for the 43 FYs on record. This was only the second time for the 43 FYs on record with less than 5 accidents during the month of May.

- For all 512 months over the last 43 FYs, this was only the 7th time with 3 or fewer total accidents during the month.

FY25 Summary

FY25 Totals: 52 accidents, 14 fatal accidents, 31 fatalities

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

- The FY25 estimated accident rate for Oct-May was 2.71 per 100K hours (12% lower than the same period in FY24 and 18% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).

- The percentage of personal/private industry sector accidents increased to 33% of the FY25 total for Oct – May, remaining at a percentage two times higher than the next closest industry sector.

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

-- Part 91 – 62%, Part 133 – 4%, Part 135 – 15%, 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-May was 0.73 per 100K hours (71% higher than the same period in FY24 and 15% higher than the 5-year average for the same period).

- With 8 months now completed in FY25, each month has had at least 1 fatal accident. FY13 was the last time at least 8 months of the FY was completed and a fatal rotorcraft accident had occurred in each month.

- The percentage of personal/private industry sector accidents increased to 43% of the FY25 total for Oct – May, a percentage that is now three times higher than the next closest industry sector.

- The following industry sectors had more than one fatal accident from Oct – May: Personal/Private (6 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 May was:

-- Part 91 – 57%, Part 133 – 0%, Part 135 – 14%, Part 137 – 7%. Remaining fatal accidents: 7% operated as public aircraft and 14% operated outside the U.S.

Fatalities:

- The FY25 estimated fatality rate for Oct-May was 1.62 per 100K hours (79% higher than the same period in FY24, 21% higher than the 5-year average for the same period).

- 27% of the rotorcraft accidents from Oct - May 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 May was:

-- Part 91 – 61%, Part 133 – 0%, Part 135 – 19%, 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)	0.61
133	1.73	1.56 (10% reduction)	0.39
135	0.33	0.17 (50% reduction)	0.34
137	1.11	1.00 (10% reduction)	1.47