FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - December 2020

USHST, Attached is the report for December 2020 (third month of FY21).

Monthly Summary Totals: 5 accidents, 2 fatal accidents, 3 fatalities Cumulative FY21 Summary (Oct – Dec) FY21, Totals: 19 accidents, 2 fatal accidents, 3 fatalities Accidents: - For Oct – Dec, the estimated accident rate was 2.59 per 100K hours. - In recent history, accidents in the personal/private industry sector have accounted for about 25% of accidents in the year. However, so far in FY21 the percentage is disproportionately high. Personal/private accounted for 53% of accidents during the first 3 months of the FY. Fatal Accidents: - For Oct – Dec, the estimated fatal accident rate was 0.27 per 100K hours. - The U.S. streak without a fatal rotorcraft accident ended at 107 days (August 25 – December 9). Based on review of historical data, this was the longest fatal accident free stretch for U.S. rotorcraft dating back to at least 1983. - FY21 had the lowest number of fatal accidents from Oct – Dec for the 39 years on record. - The cumulative fatal accident count of 2 events for Oct – Dec was 4 fatal accidents lower than both FY19 and FY20. - Through 3 months, 11% of the accidents in FY have had a fatality, the lowest for an Oct – Dec since 9% was observed in FY16. The historical average for the entire FY has been 16-17%. Fatalities: - For Oct – Dec, the estimated fatality accident rate was 0.41 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 (0.62 per 100K hours) as their baseline for measurement. - The CY 2016-2020 5 year average fatal accident rate was 0.68 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 We value your feedback. Click here to send us your feedback. 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 We value your feedback. Click here to send us your feedback. Attachments area