Which U.S. Helicopter Industries Have the Best and the Worst Accident Records?

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (www.USHST.org) looked at 10 years of helicopter operations data from Jan. 2009 through 2018 and compared the share of flight hours of every industry type with the percentage share of total accidents and fatal accidents.

During this period, U.S. civil helicopters flew more than 31 million flight hours and experienced 1,298 total accidents and 209 fatal accidents.

Comparing the share of flight hours with the share of accidents within each industry area, the USHST developed these lists showing which industry areas have the best and worst records for total accidents and fatal accidents.

Industry Ranking for Fewest Total Accidents

(Ranked by Share of Accidents vs. Share of Flight Hours)

1. Air Ambulance

2. Aerial Observe/Police/News

3. Air Tour/Sightseeing

4. Offshore/Oil

5. Other (positioning, proficiency)

6. Firefighting

7. External Load

8. Business/Corporate

9. Instructional

10. Commercial (air taxi, for hire)

11. Utilities/Construction

12. Aerial Application

13. Personal/Private Industry Ranking for Fewest Fatal Accidents

(Ranked by Share of Accidents vs. Share of Flight Hours)

1. Instructional

2. Aerial Observe/Police/News

3. Air Tour/Sightseeing

4. Other (positioning, proficiency)

5. Offshore/Oil

6. Air Ambulance

7. Firefighting

8. External Load

9. Business/Corporate

10. Commercial (air taxi, for hire)

11. Aerial Application

12. Utilities/Construction

For more details about the data, see the press release on the USHST web site.

Since 2013, the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team has focused on enhancing safe operations and reducing fatal accidents within the U.S. civil helicopter community. From 2012 to 2014, the average number of U.S. accidents per year was 146 and the average number of fatal accidents each year was 25. From 2015 to 2017, this has decreased to 118 total accidents per year (down 19%) and 18 fatal accidents per year (down 28%).