Welcome to the Fall 2025 US Helicopter Safety Team e-newsletter!
If you are first joining us, or participate regularly, we are excited to have you as a member of the team and hope you will take advantage of your USHST resources. If you would like to share your experiences & feedback, please visit us at https://ushst.org/join-ushst/ or let us know if you would be interested in volunteering.
If you are new to the USHST, it is comprised of volunteers both experienced and some just getting started, who are committed to eliminating fatal accidents. Our volunteers are from the Helicopter OEM’s, Flight Schools, FAA, NTSB, and industry advocacy groups, led by VAI – Vertical Aviation International. We’ve all come together to reduce accidents in our helicopter community. The USHST also participates with the VAST – Vertical Aviation Safety Team, which consists of International Regional Safety Helicopter Teams, which we are part of.
Since our Summer 2025 newsletter, fatal US helicopter accidents have been trending in a favorable direction based on the 5-year average, but worse than 2024. Unfortunately, the government shutdown has impacted on our most recent data, which was received and processed in September.
Helicopter Safety Snapshot — September 2025 & FY25 Close-Out
- September 2025: 7 accidents, 2 fatal, 4 fatalities.
- FY25 concluded with 96 accidents – the lowest in 43 fiscal years.
- Personal/Private operations represented the largest share.
U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Calendar Year Metrics
The USHST’s 5-year goals for 2025-2029 are based on individual (14 CFR) Operating Parts, tracked by the 5-year average fatal accident rates per 100K hours.
| 14 CFR Part | Baseline, CY2018-2022 (per 100K hours) | Goal, CY2025-2029 (per 100K hours) | Progress, CY2021-2025 (per 100K hours) |
| 91 | 0.81 | 0.73 (10% reduction) | 0.59 |
| 133 | 1.73 | 1.56 (10% reduction) | 0.61 |
| 135 | 0.33 | 0.17 (50% reduction) | 0.34 |
| 137 | 1.11 | 1.00 (10% reduction) | 1.45 |
USHST uses the following as conditions for the fatal accidents included in rate calculations.
- U.S. registered aircraft
- Operating in the U.S./U.S. territories (includes offshore)
- Not operating as Public Aircraft (public use)
U.S. Helicopter Accidents — Since September 2025
| Date | Location | Aircraft | Casualties | Notes |
| Sep 6, 2025 | Lakeville, MN | Robinson R66 | 2 Fatal | Personal flight; post‑impact fire. |
| Oct 6, 2025 | Sacramento, CA | Air Medical H130 (REACH) | 1 Fatal, 2 Serious | Reported power loss shortly after takeoff (prelim). |
| Oct 11, 2025 | Huntington Beach, CA | Bell 222 | 5 Injured | Tail‑rotor pitch‑link separation reported (prelim). |
| Oct 22, 2025 | Ekalaka, MT | Robinson R66 | 4 Fatal | Family flight; investigation ongoing. |
| Nov 4, 2025 | McMinn County, TN | Rotorway E | Minor Injuries | Reported power loss during takeoff; preliminary. |
Monthly Summary
September Totals: 7 accidents, 2 fatal accidents, 4 fatalities
- The 7 accidents during the month tied for the second lowest September total in the last 43 FYs. This was only the fourth time a September has had a monthly accident total less than 10.
- There were four industry sectors with accidents during the month: Helicopter Air Ambulance, Instructional/Training, Personal/Private, And Utilities Patrol/Construction. None of them had more than 2 accidents.
FY25 Summary
FY25 Totals: 96 accidents, 20 fatal accidents, 41 fatalities
Accidents (includes both fatal & non-fatal accidents):
- The FY25 estimated accident rate for the full year was 3.18 per 100K hours (6% lower than the same period in FY24 and 18% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).
*Both the overall accident count (96) and accident rate (3.18) were the lowest of any FY for the 43 years on record.*
- By percentage of overall accidents, the highest industry sectors were: 1) Personal/Private (34%, 32 events) and 2) tie Aerial Application and Helicopter Air Ambulance (EACH with 13%, 12 events).
- Distribution of accidents by Operating Part for FY25 was:
- Part 91 – 57%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 15%, Part 137 – 13%. Remaining accidents: 3% operated as public aircraft and 6% operated outside the U.S.
- Historical distribution of flight hours (for comparison with percentage of accidents):
- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 31%, Part 137 – 8%. Flight hours are unknown for public aircraft and aircraft operating outside the U.S.
Fatal Accidents:
- The FY25 estimated fatal accident rate for the full year was 0.66 per 100K hours (22% higher than the same period in FY24 and 4% lower than the 5-year average for the same period).
- By percentage of fatal accidents, the highest industry sectors were: 1) Personal/Private (40%, 8 events), 2) (4-way tie), Aerial Application, Air Tour/Sightseeing, Helicopter Air Ambulance, and Utilities Patrol/Construction (EACH with 10%, 2 events).
- For the first year since FY13, there was a fatal accident in each month of the FY.
- For only the fifth time in the last 43 FYs, there were at least 6 months of the FY where only 1 fatal accident occurred. For the first time ever, this has happened in consecutive years (FY24 and FY25).
- Distribution of fatal accidents by Operating Part for FY25 was:
- Part 91 – 50%, Part 133 – 10%, Part 135 – 15%, Part 137 – 10%. Remaining fatal accidents: 5% operated as public aircraft and 10% operated outside the U.S.
- Historical distribution of flight hours (for comparison with percentage of fatal accidents):
- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 31%, Part 137 – 8%. Flight hours are unknown for public aircraft and aircraft operating outside the U.S.
Fatalities:
- The FY25 estimated fatality rate for the full year was 1.36 per 100K hours (38% higher than the same period in FY24, 4% higher than the 5-year average for the same period).
- 21% of the rotorcraft accidents in FY25 had a fatality. This was a 5% increase over the percentage observed in each of the preceding 4 years (2021-2024 each were 16%). They FY25 percentage was the highest since FY20 when 25% of the accidents had a fatality.
- By percentage of fatalities, the highest industry sectors were: 1) Personal/Private (32%, 13 fatalities), 2) Air/Tour Sightseeing (24%, 10 fatalities), and 3) Helicopter Air Ambulance (14%, 6 fatalities).
- Distribution of fatalities by Operating Part for FY25 was:
- Part 91 – 54%, Part 133 – 10%, Part 135 – 20%, Part 137 – 5%. Remaining fatalities: 2% on public aircraft and 10% on aircraft operated outside the U.S.
- Historical distribution of flight hours (for comparison with percentage of fatalities):
- Part 91 – 55%, Part 133 – 6%, Part 135 – 31%, Part 137 – 8%. Flight hours are unknown for public aircraft and aircraft operating outside the U.S.
Government Shutdown & USHST Position
The aviation community has expressed concern regarding the ongoing federal government shutdown and its impact on continuity of safety oversight. Core safety services remain active, though some administrative and modernization activities may experience delays.
The USHST is a participating member and signatory of the Modern Skies Coalition, which has publicly called for the swift reopening of the government to restore full FAA staffing and program stability. Aviation safety benefits from a fully staffed, fully empowered FAA. A link to the statement is below. Since the re-opening of the government, the Modern Skies Coalition is supporting bill language that will provide funding for FAA, TSA and other essential aviation personnel should the government reach another budget impasse in the future.
COPTER Instrument Flight Procedures & Flight Plan Filing
IFR helicopter operators have long struggled to file instrument flight plans through EFB systems that include COPTER Departures and low-altitude ZK Routes, due to Specials not being contained in the 28-Day NASR file used by EFBs.
Good News! Working with FAA Flight Standards, a new database structure and ATC automation update now enables ZK Routes to be filed electronically in IFR flight plans. COPTER Departures will be added following successful implementation of the ZK Route capability.
NEW! VFR Prediction Tool
Based on a suggestion from Robinson CEO David Smith, Hughes created a VFR Prediction Tool, available free of charge in the Hughes App. This new allows pilots to create a route and source weather along the route at the current time, or forecasting 24 hours into the future. The tool will display the probability of VFR/MVFR and IFR along the proposed route of flight. It will also pull any available weather cameras along the route and provide real-time images. The tool provides times for sunrise and sunset along the desired route, as well as moon illumination.
The HUGHES App – FREE
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
USHST Foundation – Peer Pilot Mental Health Program
The USHST PPP is an all-volunteer peer-based program where a helicopter pilot dealing with a personal or professional issue can speak with an industry peer volunteer, regarding a non-life-threatening mental well-being concern in their lives. The volunteers are experienced colleagues who share and understand the helicopter profession, identifying with the pressures and risks both real and perceived that both helicopter pilots and crew encounter. Completely confidential.
The program is at no cost to USHST members, does not involve the FAA, your medical or your employer. NO Cost, NO Risk and NO Judgement. You can go directly to the USHST Peer Pilot Program Website – https://www.ushstpeer.org/ or reach us from the USHST.org webpage or thorough the Hughes App.
The Holidays Are Upon us! Get your USHST Swag and support the PPP
As a community, we can purchase Official USHST branded merchandise here https://vaigiftstore.com/ushst/ and the proceeds will fund these programs. Official USHST branded merchandise consists of a variety of apparel, and collectable items including a limited edition USHST Challenge Coin!
The FAA Rotorcraft Collective
The USHST and the FAA’s Rotorcraft Collective have been working on new videos to enhance helicopter safety. The most recent installment – Undesired Aircraft State
Please check it out!
Helicopter Safety Enhancements or HS-Es – A Summary Report can be found here https://ushst.org/h-se-details/
HS-Es 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.
HS-E 28 – Helicopter Preflight
Available on the USHST.org website https://ushst.org/H_SE/H-SE%2028.pdf and you can watch the USHST & VAI recorded Webinar with the link below. It was featured on Saturday Morning Coffee & Wings in October.
Finally, we are approaching the 31st anniversary of the Salvadore Allende Mission, the longest oceanic Search & Rescue mission in history, flown into the Atlantic Ocean during a winter storm that claimed the M/V Salvador Allende and its crew of 31 Ukrainian Merchant Marines. At the end of our featured articles is an excerpt from Customs Today that features the rescue. (At the time, I was an undercover pilot for US Customs, working a money laundering case). Our mission was comprised of two HH60 USAF Pavehawk helicopters flying more than 16 hours, conducting 10 mid-air refueling from four HC/KC-130 tankers from the USAF and USMC.
VAI also published an article First Person: The Salvadore Allende Rescue which can be found here. https://verticalavi.org/magazine-articles/first-person-the-salvador-allende-rescue-2/.
Thank you for your dedication to helicopter safety! Have a safe flight!