U.S. Rotorcraft Accident
Data and Statistics
Presented to: 2012 FAA/Industry Safety Forum
By: Lee Roskop, Operations Research Analyst
Date: Jan 2012
Federal Aviation
Administration
U.S. Registered Rotorcraft Accidents
30 Year History: 1982-2011
300
273
252
250
259
221
222
213
200
205
199
187
186 186
184
Accidents
205
194
177
171
157
150
185
175
168
167
190
170
170
154
149
141
149
134
127
100
50
42
42
41
39
31
34
29
37
35
29
41
36
29
25
19
33
31
26
38
33
28
35
32
25
25
24
28
24
19
18
0
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
Calendar Year
Accidents Per Year
Fatal Accidents Per Year
Federal Aviation
Administration
2
2
U.S. Registered Rotorcraft Accidents
Focus on 10 Year History: 2001-2010
250
205
200
190
185
175
170
170
150
Accidents
149
141
154
134
100
50
38
28
32
25
35
25
24
24
28
19
0
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Calendar Year
Accidents Per Year
Fatal Accidents Per Year
Federal Aviation
Administration
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3
Progressing from accident totals to
accident rates requires flight hours.
The FAA’s General Aviation and Part 135
Activity Survey is the source for U.S.
rotorcraft flight hour estimates used
calculations used in this presentation.
Federal Aviation
Administration
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4
U.S. Registered Rotorcraft Accidents
Estimated Accident Rates: 2001-2010
12.00
10.13
10.00
9.60
8.14
Accidents
8.00
6.71
6.05
6.00
5.24
4.96
4.47
4.38
4.00
2.00
1.78
1.33
1.30
3.94
1.26
0.79
0.73
1.09
0.74
0.82
0.63
0.00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Calendar Year
Accidents Rate per 100,000 Hours
Fatal Accident Rate Per 100,000 Hours
Federal Aviation
Administration
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5
U.S. Registered Rotorcraft Accidents
Estimated Accident Rates: 2001-2010
12.00
Start of IHST initiative and goal to
reduce accident rate 80% in 10 years
10.13
10.00
9.60
Accidents
2006 – 2010: IHST was analysis centered
8.14
8.00
2011 – 2015: IHST is implementation
centered
6.71
6.05
6.00
5.24
4.96
4.47
4.38
4.00
3.94
IHST’s goal is a rate of 1.8 by 2016.
2.00
*
1.78
1.33
1.30
1.26
0.79
0.73
1.09
0.74
0.82
0.63
0.00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Calendar Year
Accidents Rate per 100,000 Hours
Fatal Accident Rate Per 100,000 Hours
Federal Aviation
Administration
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6
What are the usual environmental
conditions for rotorcraft accidents?
• Based on NTSB data for U.S. rotorcraft
accidents from 2001-2010:
Over 88% occur in daylight conditions
Over 95% occur in VMC
Federal Aviation
Administration
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7
What industry sectors result in the
most rotorcraft accidents?
Helicopter EMS?
Federal Aviation
Administration
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8
What industry sectors result in the
most rotorcraft accidents?
Helicopter EMS?
Air Tour?
Federal Aviation
Administration
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9
What industry sectors result in the
most rotorcraft accidents?
Helicopter EMS?
Air Tour?
Offshore?
Federal Aviation
Administration
10
10
What industry sectors result in the
most rotorcraft accidents?
Helicopter EMS?
Air Tour?
Offshore?
Federal Aviation
Administration
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11
Rotorcraft Accidents by NTSB Classification
10 Years from CY01 to CY10 – 1,672 Accidents
6 Other Categories
6 Other Categories1.5%
1.5%
External
Load
1.9%
External
Load
1.9%
Flight Test
1.4%
Flight Test
1.4%
Instruction/Training
Instruction/Training
21.7% 21.7%
Aerial Observation
Aerial3.3%
Observation 3.3%
Business 4.7%
Business
4.7%
Positioning 4.9%
Positioning
4.9%
Other Work 7.4%
Other
Work 7.4%
EMS 7.8%
EMS 7.8%
Personal/Private
Personal/Private
20.0%
20.0%
Public Use 7.8%
Public Use 7.8%
Aerial Application
Not Categorized9.3%
9.3%
Not Categorized
Aerial8.2%
Application 8.2%
Federal Aviation
Administration
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12
IHST’s Analysis of U.S. Accidents
CYs 2000, 2001, 2006 – 523 accidents
Personal/Private
18.5%
Personal/Private
18.5%
Electronic New s
Electronic News
Gathering 1.7%
Gathering 1.7%
Utilities
Utilities
Patrol/Construction
2.1%
Patrol/Construction 2.1%
External Load 2.7%
External Load 2.7%
Logging
Logging 2.7% 2.7%
Instruction/Training
Instructional/Training
17.6%
17.6%
Firefighting 3.6% 3.6%
Firefighting
Offshore 4.2%4.2%
Offshore
Aerial Observation
4.2%
Aerial
Observation
4.2%
Business 4.8%
Business 4.8%
Aerial Application
10.3%
Aerial Application
10.3%
Air Tour / Sightseeing 5.9%
Air Tour / Sightseeing
5.9%
Emergency Medical
Em ergency Medical
Services 7.6%
Services 7.6%
Law Enforcement
6.5%
Law Enforcem ent 6.5%
Commercial
Com m ercial7.5%
7.5%
Federal Aviation
Administration
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13
2011 Analysis of U.S. Accidents
Firefighting
0.8%
Firefighting
0.8%
Personal/Private 27.6%
Personal/Private
27.6%
Offshore 0.8%
Offshore 0.8%
Business 1.6%
Business 1.6%
Air Tour / Sightseeing
Air
Tour
/ Sightseeing 1.6%
1.6%
Utilities
Utilities
Patrol/Construction
2.4%
Patrol/Construction 2.4%
External Load 2.4%
External Load 2.4%
Law Enforcem ent 3.1%
Law Enforcement 3.1%
Aerial Observation 4.7%
Aerial Observation 4.7%
Instruction/Training
Instructional/Training
18.9%
18.9%
Emergency
Em ergency MedicalMedical
Services 6.3%
Services
6.3%
Commercial 11.0%
Com m ercial 11.0%
Aerial Application 18.9%
Aerial Application
18.9%
Federal Aviation
Administration
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14
Hopefully the last few slides left you with a
better impression than this…
…but percentage of accidents within each
industry sector is only half of the story.
Federal Aviation
Administration
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15
Personal/Private
Accidents Compared to Flight Hours
U.S. Personal/Private Helicopter Accidents and Flight Hours
25%
20%
20%
18%
19%
20%
19%
20%
20%
4%
4%
21%
22%
22%
4%
4%
15%
10%
6%
5%
6%
4%
3%
4%
4%
0%
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
% of Rotorcraft Hours
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
% of Rotorcraft Accidents
Federal Aviation
Administration
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16
Instruction/Training
Accidents Compared to Flight Hours
U.S. Instructional/Training Helicopter Accidents and Flight Hours
35%
31%
30%
25%
20%
24%
21%
24%
24%
21%
20%
18%
16%
15%
13%
10%
11%
9%
18%
16%
17%
16%
16%
12%
10%
5%
0%
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
% of Rotorcraft Hours
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
% of Rotorcraft Accidents
Federal Aviation
Administration
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17
Aerial Application
Accidents Compared to Flight Hours
U.S. Aerial Application Helicopter Accidents and Flight Hours
20%
18%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
8%
6%
4%
8%
7%
9%
7%
10%
8%
8%
5%
5%
2%
7%
4%
3%
5%
4%
4%
4%
0%
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
% of Rotorcraft Hours
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
% of Rotorcraft Accidents
Federal Aviation
Administration
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18
HEMS
Accidents Compared to Flight Hours
U.S. EMS Helicopter Accidents and Flight Hours
18%
16%
14%
12%
14%
16%
15%
8%
6%
9%
7%
14%
13%
12%
10%
8%
14%
15%
8%
8%
8%
9%
10%
9%
6%
10%
6%
4%
2%
0%
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
% of Rotorcraft Hours
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
% of Rotorcraft Accidents
Federal Aviation
Administration
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19
Accident rate comparison
HEMS 2001 – 2010
3.9 accidents per 100,000 flight hours
Federal Aviation
Administration
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20
Accident rate comparison
HEMS 2001 – 2010
3.9 accidents per 100,000 flight hours
Personal/Private 2001 – 2010
29.6 accidents per 100,000 flight hours
Over 7 Times Higher than
Helicopter EMS
Federal Aviation
Administration
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21
Another approach to examining
rotorcraft accident trends:
Cro Amsaa
Federal Aviation
Administration
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22
Cro Amsaa?
…is not this (Cro Magnon).
Federal Aviation
Administration
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23
Cro Amsaa
…is not this (Cro Magnon).
…but is this!
Federal Aviation
Administration
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24
Cro Amsaa Analysis
Federal Aviation
Administration
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25
Cro Amsaa Analysis
The value of Beta tells a story about the safety of our system
If Beta = 1: safety of the system is not changing
If Beta > 1: failures occurring faster
If Beta < 1: failures occurring slower
All Accidents CY 01 - 10
All Accidents CY 01 - 05
All Accidents CY 06 - 10
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Cro Amsaa Analysis
Bottom line:
Overall, the safety of our system got slightly better from 2001 to 2010.
Comparatively,
2001 to 2005: system safety was stagnant to slightly deteriorating
2006 to 2010: system safety was improving
All Accidents CY 01 - 10
All Accidents CY 01 - 05
All Accidents CY 06 - 10
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Cro Amsaa – All Rotorcraft Accidents
Our Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) offers further confirmation of a
system that is trending toward better safety the last 5 years:
Note the increase in the MTBF for 2006 to 2010 in comparison to 2001
to 2005.
All Accidents CY 01 - 10
All Accidents CY 01 - 05
All Accidents CY 06 - 10
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Cro Amsaa - Only Personal/Private
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 10
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 05
Personal/Private Accidents CY 06 - 10
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Cro Amsaa - Only Personal/Private
Although the Personal/Private sector improved from 2006 to 2010, the
sector still lags behind the beta of the overall system for every block of
years examined.
Beta values of overall
system during same
block of years
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 10
0.938
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 05
1.026
Personal/Private Accidents CY 06 - 10
0.849
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Cro Amsaa - Only Personal/Private
Using MTBF as a measurement, Personal/Private improved from 2006 to
2010 as compared to 2001 to 2005.
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 –
10c
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 05
Personal/Private Accidents CY 06 - 10
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Cro Amsaa - Only Personal/Private
The Personal/Private MTBF did improve by 2.5 days from 2006 to 2010 as
compared to 2001 to 2005.
But the MTBFs don’t
compare favorably to
other industry sectors,
e.g. HEMS.
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 10
HEMS MTBF CY 01 – 10:
30.23
Personal/Private Accidents CY 01 - 05
HEMS MTBF CY 01 – 05:
25.05
Personal/Private Accidents CY 06 - 10
HEMS MTBF CY 06 – 10:
31.35
Federal Aviation
Administration
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Gathering data on U.S. rotorcraft can be
difficult, but we’re not so desperate that
we’ve resorted to this technique yet.
Federal Aviation
Administration
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What do we know about
Personal/Private rotorcraft accidents?
• The IHST’s study of 523 U.S. accidents across 3
years provides the most complete analysis of:
– What happened (Occurrence Categories)
– Why it happened (Problem Statements)
– How it could have been prevented (Intervention
Recommendations)
• The next several slides will look specifically at
these areas for the 97 Personal/Private accidents
(18.5% of the 523 total accidents) in the IHST’s U.S.
data set.
Federal Aviation
Administration
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34
Personal/Private Accidents:
Occurrence Categories tell “What happened?”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be placed in multiple occurrence
categories, so the percentages shown are not intended to sum to 100%.
Loss of Control
41%
Autorotation
27%
System Component Failure
23%
Struck an Object
21%
Fuel Related
12%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Percentage of Personal/Private Accidents (97 accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
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35
Personal/Private Accidents:
More about “Loss of Control”
• Loss of control occurrences were further
divided into more specific sub-areas.
• For Personal/Private, the Loss of Control
sub-areas most frequently cited were (in
descending order):
– Performance Management
– Exceeded Operating Limits
– Lost Tail Rotor Authority
Federal Aviation
Administration
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36
Personal/Private Accidents:
Problem Statements tell “Why did it happen?”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple problem
statements, so the percentages shown are not intended to sum to 100%.
Pilot judgment & actions
90%
Safety Management
43%
Ground Duties
41%
Pilot Situational Awareness
34%
Part/system failure
23%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Personal/Private Accidents (97 accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
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37
Personal/Private Accidents:
Problem Statements tell “Why did it happen?”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple problem
statements, so the percentages shown are not intended to sum to 100%.
Pilot judgment & actions
90%
For purposes of this
43% presentation we
will take a closer look at just a couple of
41%
the problem statements.
Safety Management
Ground Duties
Pilot Situational Awareness
34%
Part/system failure
23%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Personal/Private Accidents (97 accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
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38
Personal/Private Accidents:
Further details for selected problem statements
• “Pilot Judgment & Actions” problems most
frequently occurred in the following sub-areas:
– Decision Making, Landing Procedures, Procedure
Implementation, Flight Profile
• “Pilot Situational Awareness” problems most
frequently occurred in the following sub-areas:
– Awareness of External Environment, Awareness of
Visibility/Weather, Awareness of Internal Aircraft Issues
Federal Aviation
Administration
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39
Personal/Private Accidents:
Intervention Recommendations tell “How it
could have been prevented”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple intervention
recommendations, so percentages aren't intended to sum to 100%.
Training/Instructional
87%
Safety Management
62%
Systems and Equipment
35%
Regulatory
29%
Maintenance
20%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Personal/Private Accidents (97 Accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
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40
Personal/Private Accidents:
Intervention Recommendations tell “How it
could have been prevented”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple intervention
recommendations, so percentages aren't intended to sum to 100%.
Training/Instructional
87%
Safety Management
62%
For purposes of this presentation we
35% look at only Systems
will take a closer
and Equipment
recommendations.
29%
Systems and Equipment
Regulatory
Maintenance
20%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Personal/Private Accidents (97 Accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
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41
Personal/Private Accidents:
A closer look at the top “Systems and
Equipment” intervention recommendations
• Post Incident Survivability
– Crash resistant fuel systems
– Install Wire Strike Protection System
– Improve helicopter specific ELT practices/standards
• Situational Awareness Enhancers
– Install proximity detection system
– Wire detection system for low altitude operations
• Cockpit Indication/Warning
– Automate carburetor anti-ice function or early warning alert
– Fuel system status
Federal Aviation
Administration
42
42
The first recorded incident of a pilot
choosing to ignore statistical data at
the risk of his crew and passengers
happened a long time ago…
Federal Aviation
Administration
43
43
…in a galaxy far, far away.
But sir, the possibility
of successfully
navigating an asteroid
field is approximately
3,720 to 1!!
Never tell me the odds!!
Federal Aviation
Administration
44
44
What do we know about
Instructional/Training Accidents?
• Second highest number of accidents of any
industry sector studied by the IHST’s review
of U.S. helicopter accidents
• 92 accidents in Instructional Training
– 17.6% of the 523 total accidents studied
Federal Aviation
Administration
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45
Instructional/Training Accidents:
Occurrence Categories tell “What happened?”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be placed in multiple occurrence
categories, so the percentages shown are not intended to sum to 100%.
Loss of Control
61%
Autorotation
54%
Abnormal Runway Contact
17%
System Component Failure
15%
Landing Zone
9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Percentage of Instructional/Training Accidents (92 accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
46
46
Instructional/Training Accidents:
More about “Loss of Control”
• Loss of control occurrences were further
divided into more specific sub-areas.
• For Instructional/Training, the Loss of
Control sub-areas most frequently cited
were (in descending order):
– Performance Management
– Interference with Controls
– Dynamic Rollover
Federal Aviation
Administration
47
47
Instructional/Training Accidents:
Problem Statements tell “Why did it happen?”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple problem
statements, so the percentage shown are not intended to sum to 100%
Pilot judgment & actions
93%
Safety Management
54%
Ground Duties
20%
Pilot Situational Awareness
20%
Part/system failure
17%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Instructional/Training Accidents (92 accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
48
48
Instructional/Training Accidents:
Problem Statements tell “Why did it happen?”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple problem
statements, so the percentage shown are not intended to sum to 100%
Pilot judgment & actions
93%
For purposes of this presentation
we
54%
will take a closer look at just a couple of
20%
the problem statements.
Safety Management
Ground Duties
Pilot Situational Awareness
20%
Part/system failure
17%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Instructional/Training Accidents (92 accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
49
49
Instructional/Training Accidents:
Further details for selected problem statements
• “Pilot Judgment & Actions” problems most
frequently occurred in the following subareas:
– Procedure Implementation, Landing Procedures,
Crew Resource Management, Decision Making
• “Pilot Situational Awareness” problems
most frequently occurred in the following
sub-areas:
– Awareness of External Environment
Federal Aviation
Administration
50
50
Instructional/Training Accidents:
Intervention Recommendations tell “How it
could have been prevented”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple intervention
recommendations, so percentages aren't intended to sum to 100%
Training/Instructional
92%
Safety Management
57%
Systems and Equipment
15%
Maintenance
8%
Regulatory
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Instructional/Training Accidents (92 Accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
51
51
Instructional/Training Accidents:
Intervention Recommendations tell “How it
could have been prevented”
Note: During the IHST analysis, each accident could be assigned multiple intervention
recommendations, so percentages aren't intended to sum to 100%
Training/Instructional
92%
Safety Management
57%
For purposes of this presentation we
15%
will take a closer look at only Systems
8% Equipment recommendations.
and
Systems and Equipment
Maintenance
Regulatory
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of Instructional/Training Accidents (92 Accidents)
Federal Aviation
Administration
52
52
Instructional/Training Accidents:
A closer look at the top “Systems and
Equipment” intervention recommendations
• Post Incident Survivability
– Crash resistant fuel systems
– Install Wire Strike Protection System
• Cockpit Warning/Indication
– Install low rotor warning
– Provide power available versus power required indicator
– Low airspeed indicator warning
• Situational Awareness Enhancers
– Wire detection system for low altitude operations
– Automatic hover recovery system
– Proximity detection system
Federal Aviation
Administration
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53
The IHST study of U.S. rotorcraft
accidents went quite a bit deeper than
this.
Federal Aviation
Administration
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54
What do we know about Aerial
Application Accidents?
• Third highest number of accidents of any industry
sector studied by the IHST’s review of U.S.
helicopter accidents.
• 54 accidents in Aerial Application
– 10.3% of the 523 total accidents studied
• Despite trailing Personal/Private and
Instructional/Training in the IHST study’s
percentage of total accidents, concerns in this
industry sector are growing.
Federal Aviation
Administration
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55
Percentage of Aerial Application
Helicopter Accidents – Last 5 Years
20%
18%
16%
18%
19%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
10%
7%
5%
0%
2007
2008
2009
2010
Federal Aviation
Administration
2011
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56
Percentage of Aerial Application
Helicopter Accidents – Last 5 Years
Percentages the last 2 years are comparable to
Personal/Private. Also, like Personal/Private, the
20% flight hour exposure level is relatively low.
18%
16%
18%
19%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
10%
7%
5%
0%
2007
2008
2009
2010
Federal Aviation
Administration
2011
57
57
Knowing when U.S. Aerial Application
rotorcraft accidents are more likely to
occur does not require much
guessing…
Federal Aviation
Administration
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58
Aerial Application Accidents by Month:
10 years from 2001-2010
35%
30%
30%
25%
20%
15%
15%
10%
10%
5%
3%
4%
4%
11%
10%
4%
4%
3%
0%
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Federal Aviation
Administration
Nov
1%
Dec
59
59
Aerial Application Accidents by Month:
10 years from 2001-2010
76% of accidents during 6
month peak U.S. growing
35% season of May - Sep
30%
30%
25%
20%
15%
15%
10%
10%
5%
3%
4%
4%
11%
10%
4%
4%
3%
0%
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Federal Aviation
Administration
Nov
1%
Dec
60
60
Future challenges – what to do now?
• Personal/Private, Instructional/Training, and Aerial
Application pose unique problems
• Difficult population of operators to reach
– Not likely to attend major industry or government safety forums
– Less awareness/exposure to industry-wide safety initiatives and best
practices
• Small fleet sizes, often just 1 aircraft
• Have to convince them of the benefits to make any
change
– Must be low cost or no cost
– Must make the case that it will show immediate results
Federal Aviation
Administration
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61
The goals set by the rotorcraft community for
reductions in U.S. rotorcraft accidents will
require no higher than single digit annual
accident totals in each industry sector of
Personal/Private, Instructional/Training, and
Aerial Application.
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The goals set by the rotorcraft community for
reductions in U.S. rotorcraft accidents will
require no higher than single digit annual
accident totals in each industry sector of
Personal/Private, Instructional/Training, and
Aerial Application.
This is where we stood at the end of 2011:
Personal/Private:
35 accidents
Instructional/Training:
24 accidents
Aerial Application:
24 accidents
So, there is some work to be done.
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Difficult problems sometimes lead to
a new level of cooperation and
innovation to find a solution….
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Difficult problems sometimes lead to
a new level of cooperation and
innovation to find a solution….
…the results may
surprise everyone.
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If you found the portions of this
presentation that referenced the work
by the IHST useful, please go to the
following address for more
information, including detailed
analysis reports:
www.ihst.org
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Questions?
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