FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - September (End of FY26)

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Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for September 2026 (final 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

September Totals: 9 accidents, 3 fatal accidents, 7 fatalities

- The 3 fatal accidents during September tied with December and March for the highest monthly totals during FY26.

- The 3 fatal accidents occurred in three separate industry segments (Electronic News Gathering, Firefighting, and Helicopter Air Ambulance).

- Each of the fatal accidents had multiple fatalities.

- With 4 total accidents, Personal/Private was the only industry segment with more than one accident during the month. The other accidents were dispersed among 5 different industry segments.

FY26 Summary

FY26 Totals: 84 accidents, 19 fatal accidents, 36 fatalities

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

- The FY26 estimated accident rate for Oct-Sep was 2.82 per 100K hours (14% lower than FY25 and 26% lower than the 5-year average).

- Distribution of accidents by Operating Part in FY26:

-- Part 91 – 57%, Part 133 – 5%, Part 135 – 13%, Part 137 – 16%. Remaining accidents: 7% operated as Public Use aircraft. 2% U.S. registered but operating outside the U.S.

- Historical distribution of flight hours by Operating Part:

-- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 31%, Part 137 – 8%.

- The count of 84 accidents for FY26 was the lowest total for the 44 FYs on record.

- The 84 accidents occurred in 11 different industry segments.

-- Four industry segments accounted for the highest three percentages: 1) Personal/Private: 32%, 2) Aerial Application: 16%, 3) (tie) Helicopter Air Ambulance and Instructional/Training: each with 13%.

-- Combined, the top four industry segments accounted for 74% of the accidents in the FY.

Fatal Accidents:

- The FY26 estimated fatal accident rate for Oct-Sep was 0.64 per 100K hours (7% lower than FY25 and 1% lower than the 5-year average).

- Distribution of fatal accidents by Operating Part in FY26:

-- Part 91 – 42%, Part 133 – 16%, Part 135 – 26%, Part 137 – 0%. Remaining fatal accidents: 11% operated as Public Use aircraft. 5% U.S. registered but operating outside the U.S.

- Historical distribution of flight hours by Operating Part:

-- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 31%, Part 137 – 8%.

- The count of 19 fatal accidents in FY26 was in a three-way tie for the fourth lowest total for that time for the 44 FYs on record.

- The 19 fatal accidents in FY26 occurred in 9 different industry segments.

-- Four industry sectors had multiple fatal accidents: 1) Personal/Private (5 events, 26%); 2) Firefighting (4 events, 21%); 3) Helicopter Air Ambulance (3 events, 16%), 4) Utilities Patrol/Construction: (2 events,11%).

-- Combined, the top four industry segments accounted for 74% of the fatal accidents in the FY.

Fatalities:

- The FY26 estimated occupant fatality rate for Oct-Sep was 1.21 per 100K hours (14% lower than FY25 and 2% lower than the 5-year average).

- 23% of the rotorcraft accidents in FY26 had a fatality, the second highest percentage over the last 10 years and highest since FY20. The long-term historical percentage is 17-18%.

- Multiple fatalities occurred in 58% of the 19 fatal accidents.

- Distribution of fatalities by Operating Part in FY26:

-- Part 91 – 44%, Part 133 – 11%, Part 135 – 28%, Part 137 – 0%. Remaining fatalities: 11% operated as Public Use aircraft. 6% U.S. registered but operating outside the U.S.

- Historical distribution of flight hours by Operating Part:

-- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 31%, Part 137 – 8%.

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)	0.47
133	1.73	1.56 (10% reduction)	0.99
135	0.33	0.17 (50% reduction)	0.43
137	1.11	1.00 (10% reduction)	1.06