Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing December 2021
Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for December 2021 (25% of FY22 complete).
Monthly Summary
Totals: 9 accidents, 4 fatal accidents, 7 fatalities
- The 9 accidents during the month were the highest for a December since FY15 and tied for the second highest December since FY04.
- The 4 fatal accidents during the month were the highest for a December since FY05.
- August 2020 was the last time more than 3 fatal accidents occurred during the month.
- The 7 fatalities during the month were the second highest for a December in the last 10 FYs.
- January 2020 was the last time more than 6 fatalities occurred during the month.
- Of the 9 accidents during the month, 4 were Personal/Private. All 4 were fatal.
Cumulative FY22 Summary, Oct-Dec
FY22, Totals: 25 accidents, 7 fatal accidents, 11 fatalities
Accidents:
- Through 3 months, the estimated accident rate was 3.61 per 100K hours, comparable to the full year rate for FY21.
- Instructional/Training and Personal/Private have combined for 48% of the accidents so far in the FY (12 of 25 events). No other industry is higher than 12% (3 events).
Fatal Accidents:
- The Oct-Dec estimated fatal accident rate was 1.01 per 100K hours.
- If the present 3 month trend continued for the remainder of the FY, it would be one of the three worst rates in the past 10 FYs and would also be above the FAA’s overall General Aviation (fixed wing and rotary wing) target rate for FY22 of 0.95.
- Personal/Private has already eclipsed its full year FY21 fatal accident total (4) through only 3 months of FY22 (5 Personal/Private fatal accidents from Oct – Dec).
Fatalities:
- The FY22 estimated fatality rate through December was 1.59 per 100K hours.
- 28% of the U.S. rotorcraft accident so far in FY22 have had a fatality, trending at the highest percentage in the most recent 10 FYs.
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 5 year average fatal accident rate from CYs 2014-2018 (0.62 per 100K hours) as their baseline for measurement.
- The CY 2017-2021 5 year average fatal accident rate was 0.75 per 100K hours through December 2021.
Lee Roskop
Fleet Safety Section, AIR-723
Operational Safety Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division
817-222-5337
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