FAA Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing - January 2021

U.S. Helicopter Safety Team,

Attached is the Rotorcraft Monthly Accident Briefing for January 2021 (fourth month of FY21).

Monthly Summary

Totals: 8 accidents, 0 fatal accidents, 0 fatalities

- There were not any fatal accidents during the month of January for the first time in 5 years (last time this occurred was FY16).

- This was sixth time in the past 39 FYs where the month of January had zero fatal accidents.

Cumulative FY21 Summary (Oct – Jan)

FY21, Totals: 27 accidents, 2 fatal accidents, 3 fatalities

Accidents:

- For Oct – Jan, the estimated accident rate was 2.85 per 100K hours.

- The cumulative accident count for Oct – Jan totaling 27 events is comparable to the same time period for each of the two preceding FYs (FY19 – 29 accidents, FY20 – 28 accidents).

Fatal Accidents:

- For Oct – Jan, the estimated fatal accident rate was 0.21 per 100K hours.

- FY21 had the lowest number of fatal accidents from Oct – Jan for the 39 years on record.

- For the first time in the 39 years on record, three of the first four months in the FY had zero fatal accidents (Oct, Nov, Jan).

- Even though only 4 months have elapsed in FY21, it is one of only six FYs over the 39 years on record to have at least three months with zero fatal accidents for the entire FY.

- FY19, FY20, and FY21 marked the first time where 3 consecutive FYs have had at least 3 months in the year without a fatal accident.

- The cumulative fatal accident count of 2 events for Oct – Jan was 7 fatal accidents lower than FY19 and FY20 for the same time period.

- Through 4 months, 7% of the accidents in FY have had a fatality, the lowest percentage for an Oct – Jan for the 39 years on record. It also marked only the third time the percentage was less than 10% for Oct-Jan for the 39 years on record.

Fatalities:

- For Oct – Jan, the estimated fatality rate was 0.32 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 2017-2021 5 year average fatal accident rate was 0.7 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

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