FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for October 2023
Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for October 2023 (first month of FY24).
(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
October Totals: 6 accidents, 1 fatal accident, 1 fatality
- The six accidents during the month tied with October of FY17 for the lowest accident count in an October for the 42 years on record.
- Of the 42 years on record, FY24 is one of eleven FYs to have either 1 or 0 fatal accidents in October.
- Four of the six accidents during the month involved Instruction/Training.
FY24 Summary
FY24 Totals: 6 accidents, 1 fatal accident, 1 fatality
Accidents (includes both fatal & non-fatal accidents):
- The FY24 estimated accident rate through October was 2.33 per 100K hours (17% lower than the same period in FY23 and 33% lower than the 5 year average for the same period).
Fatal Accidents:
- The FY24 estimated fatal accident rate through October was 0.39 per 100K hours (3% lower than the same period in FY23, 50% lower than the 5 year average for the same period).
Fatalities:
- The FY24 estimated fatality rate through October was 0.39 per 100K hours (3% lower than the same period in FY23, 64% lower than the 5 year average for the same period).
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 2019-2023 5 year average fatal accident rate was 0.73 per 100K hours through October 2023.
Lee Roskop
Aviation Safety Coordinator (Rotorcraft)
Fleet Safety Section, AIR-723
Operational Safety Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division
817-222-5337
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