FAA’s Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for May 2021

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

Monthly Summary

Totals: 9 accidents, 3 fatal accidents, 6 fatalities

- There were 3 fatal accidents during the month for a second consecutive month. This was the first time in FY21 that has occurred.

- 3 of the 9 accidents during the month were aerial application (ag spraying), and 2 of the 3 aerial application accidents were fatal.

Cumulative FY21 Summary (Oct – May)

FY21, Totals: 61 accidents, 11 fatal accidents, 22 fatalities

Accidents:

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

- The cumulative accident count of 61 for Oct – May continued to trend well compared to the previous 39 FYs, trailing only FY20 (50 accidents Oct – May).

- The personal/private industry continues to be disproportionately represented in the number of accidents in FY21, with 36% of the FY total so far and 16 accidents more than the next closest industry.

Fatal Accidents:

- For Oct – May, the estimated fatal accident rate was 0.54 per 100K hours, continuing its increase for a 4th consecutive month.

- FY21 ranked in a tie for third lowest number of fatal accidents for Oct – May among the 39 years on record.

- Through 8 months, 18% of the accidents in the FY have had a fatality. The percentage has increased in recent months and is now slightly above long-term historical averages.

- The 11 fatal accidents are spread among 7 different industry areas, with no industry having more than 2.

Fatalities:

- For Oct – May, the estimated fatality rate was 1.08 per 100K hours.

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 0.71 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 0.66 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

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