FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - April

Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for April 2020. Note: We think there has been a significant reduction in flight hours for some rotorcraft industry sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but cannot yet quantify the magnitude. For now, the calculation of monthly and cumulative rotorcraft safety rates has been suspended until a revised forecast of FY2020 rotorcraft flight hours is available. Monthly Summary Totals: 7 accidents, 1 fatal accident, 2 fatalities Cumulative FY20 Summary, Oct-Apr FY20, Cumulative Totals: 48 accidents, 11 fatal accidents, 30 fatalities Accidents: -The Oct-Apr total accident count of 48 was the lowest for the 38 FYs on record. Fatal Accidents: -The Oct-Apr total fatal accident count of 11 was among the 5 lowest Oct-Apr totals for the 38 FYs on record. -23% of the accidents that have occurred so far in the FY were fatal, nearly unchanged from the previous month and still trending above the recent historical averages of 16-17%. Fatalities: -The Oct-Apr total fatality count of 30 ranks among the highest Oct-Apr totals in the last 20 FYs. U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) -Goal: Reduce the 5 year average fatal accident rate to 0.55 per 100K flight hours by 2025. -Rate metrics on USHST’s progress were suspended for April due to uncertainty in the number of flight hours. -The count of 4 rotorcraft fatal accidents from Jan-Apr is below the 5 year average count for CYs 2014-2018 from Jan-Apr of 6.2 fatal accidents. The USHST uses the fatal accident rate from CYs 2014-2018 as their baseline for measurement. Lee Roskop Safety Management Section, AIR-682 Rotorcraft Standards Branch, Policy & Innovation Division 817-222-5337 lee.roskop@faa.gov We value your feedback. Click here to send us your feedback.