Chris Baur, FRAeS
Industry Chairman, US Helicopter Safety Team
Welcome to the Summer 2024 US Helicopter Safety Team e-newsletter! We sincerely appreciate your time and participation with the US Helicopter Safety Team. If you are first joining us, the USHST is publishing a quarterly eNewsletter, featuring safety tips, statistical data and shared experiences in our community. If you would like to share your experiences & feedback at https://ushst.org/join-ushst/ or let us know if you would be interested in volunteering or want to volunteer a friend!
The USHST is comprised of dedicated volunteers from industry and government who are committed to eliminating fatal accidents. Our volunteers come from the FAA, NTSB, and Vertical Aviation International, who have come together to reduce accidents in our community. The USHST also participates with the VAST – Vertical Aviation Safety Team, which consists of International Regional Safety Teams, which we are part of.
USHST Goals (2025-2029)
Following the recent US Helicopter Safety Team’s Steering Committee meeting, the goals for 2025-2029 have been updated to align with the goals of the General Aviation Joint Safety Council (GAJSC).
Performance will be reassessed annually to validate the influence of USHST efforts.
| FAR | Goal | Baseline Reference |
| 91 | Reduce the 5-yr avg fatal accident rate to 0.73 | 10% reduction from 0.81 |
| 133 | Reduce the 5-yr avg fatal accident rate to 1.56 | 10% reduction from 1.73 |
| 135 | Reduce the 5-yr avg fatal accident rate to 0.17 | 50% reduction from 0.33 |
| 137 | Reduce the 5-yr avg fatal accident rate to 1.00 | 10% reduction from 1.11 |
| Notes | Goals are based on a reduction baseline from the previous period (2020-2024) Final measurements for each FAR Part will be based on a five-year average from January 1, 2025, ending December 31, 2029. Annual updates will be provided using the following five-year averages: 2021-2025; 2022-2026; 2023-2027; 2024-2028; and 2025-2029. | |
Monthly Summary
June Totals: 8 accidents, 1 fatal accident, 2 fatalities
– The 8 accidents tied for the lowest accident count for the month of June for the 42 FYs on record. FY23 and FY15 were the only two previous FYs when this occurred for the month of June.
FY24 Summary
FY24 Totals: 65 accidents, 9 fatal accidents, 19 fatalities
Accidents (includes both fatal & non-fatal accidents):
– The FY24 estimated accident rate for Oct-Jun was 3.04 per 100K hours (less than 1% higher than the same period in FY23 and 17% lower than the 5 year average for the same period).
– The accident count of 65 for Oct-Jun remained the third lowest total for that time period for the 42 FYs on record, trailing only FY23 (63 accidents) and FY20 (62 accidents).
– This was the first time in the 42 FYs on record that the month of June had back to back years (FY23 and FY24) with less than 10 accidents.
Fatal Accidents:
– The FY24 estimated fatal accident rate for Oct-Jun was 0.42 per 100K hours (13% lower than the same period in FY23 and 45% lower than the 5 year average for the same period).
– The fatal accident count of 9 for Oct-Jun was the lowest for that time period for the 42 FYs on record.
– Through 9 months of FY24, the percentage of accidents with a fatality remained at 14%. This would tie FY17 for the lowest in the past 10 years if the percentage persists to the conclusion of FY24.
Fatalities:
– The FY24 estimated fatality rate for Oct-Jun was 0.89 per 100K hours (16% lower than the same period in FY23, 41% lower than the 5 year average for the same period).
– The 19 fatalities from Oct-Jun remained the second lowest for that time period for the 42 FYs on record, continuing to trail only FY11 (12 fatalities).
U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Calendar Year Metrics
Includes only helicopter accidents that meet the following criteria:
1. U.S. registered aircraft
2. Operating in the U.S./U.S. territories (includes offshore)
Helicopter Safety Enhancements or HS-E’s – A Summary Report can be found here https://ushst.org/h-se-details/
HS-E’s are one of the USHST’s cornerstone safety products. Each HS-E is a thoroughly researched document that is composed by Subject Matter Experts to provide a depth of understanding about a specific topic. HS-E’s can also consist of white papers with recommended practices, calls to action; or videos, posters, webinars or checklists. CFI’s – these can be a great resource for your students! In each e-USHST Newsletter, we will examine one of the HS-E’s from the USHST library.
This e-Newsletter will feature HS-E 30: Develop/Publish ACS Rotorcraft-Helicopter Series. Since the production of HS-E 30, Matt Johnson, Tim Tucker and others have worked with the FAA to publish the new ACS standards for Helicopters.
H-SE 30, Develop/Publish ACS Rotorcraft-Helicopter Series
- Original Enhancement Action: Policy: FAA, with support from industry, to develop and publish the new Airman Certification System (ACS) Rotorcraft-Helicopter series to replace the current Practical Test Standards (PTS) for internal and external industry stakeholders for airman certification.
- Results: The USHST had multiple representatives on the FAA’s ACS, Rotorcraft-Helicopter Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. This committee made recommendations to the FAA concerning the development and publication of the Rotorcraft-Helicopter ACS.
- Result: The following documents were written and available:
- Airmanship Safety Bulletin, Vortex Ring State (https://vast.aero/archives/Airmanship_%20Bulletins/Airmanship%20Vortex%20Ring%20State%20Part%201.pdf)
- Airmanship Safety Bulletin, Power Available Limitations (https://vast.aero/archives/Airmanship_%20Bulletins/Airmanship%20Power%20Available%20Part%202.pdf)
- FINAL RESULT: The New FAA ACS for rotorcraft was published on May 31st 2024 and can be found here: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs
- The USHST & VAI hosted a webinar on the new ACS standards, and a link to the recorded session can be found on the USHST Website under Webinars or on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua1di1m15kQ&t=5s
You can join the USHST and receive both a Membership Card as well as a free subscription to the Hughes App https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hughes-app/id1491944548
