US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST)
Monthly Safety Report
June 2022
Fatal Accident Rate: 0.78 (+.23) above goal of 0.55 fatal accidents per 100K hrs by 2025
USHST Vision: A Civil Helicopter Community with Zero Fatal Accidents
“Safety by the Numbers” (Monthly Metrics):
Days since last Fatal helicopter accident: 35 Days : 23 Hours : 38 Minutes : 56 Seconds
Fatal Accident Rate (5yr avg)(CY2017-21) 0.75 Fatal Accidents per 100K Flight Hours
Fatal Accident Rate (CY2022) 8 Fatal Accidents per 100K Flight Hours
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Average number of days
between fatal accidents:
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Longest time between
fatal accidents (past 5 yrs):
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2018: 14 days
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107 days (2020)
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2019: 16 days
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2020: 18 days
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2021: 17 days
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2022: 16 days
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Loss of Control-Inflight (LOC-I), Unintended Flight into IMC (UIMC), Low Altitude Operations (LALT).
USHST continues to work on the implementation of 16 Helicopter - Safety Enhancements (H-SE) developed through data-driven analysis of 104 fatal accidents. The H-SE’s use Outreach, Policy, Technology/Equipment, and Training to reduce fatal accidents in these categories.
H-SE 28: The Final Walk Around
The PIC is responsible for determining the airworthiness of the aircraft he/she is operating (14 C.F.R. § 91.7). An adequate preflight inspection and final walk around is key to determining the condition of an aircraft prior to flight. Post-flight inspection also can help to identify issues prior to the next flight. One of the fatal accidents reviewed by the USHST in the LOC-I dataset involved inadequate aircraft inspections. The USHST believes that better guidance on both how and why to conduct these inspections, as well as increased attention to their importance, may mitigate such events in the future. To help prevent fatal helicopter accidents resulting from inadequate aircraft inspections before and after flight, the civil helicopter community should develop guidance on and increase awareness of the importance of preflight inspection, the “final walk around” (a final safety check prior to flight), and postflight inspection.
· Recommended Practice: Preflight, Final Walk Around and Postflight Inspection Guidelines
· 12 Rules to Live by for Your Pre-Flight Helicopter Inspection
· One Last Look Poster
US Helicopter Safety Team Press Release (December 2021):
“56 Seconds to Live” Safety Course Wins AIN 2021 Top Flight Award
Helicopter Safety OUTREACH events:
· Next USHST All Hands Webinar - TBD
Previous All Hands - (May 25, 2022)
· HAI Upcoming Events
JOIN/FOLLOW USHST
USHST Facebook (2.4 K Members) USHST LinkedIn USHST Twitter
For any questions regarding the information within this notice please contact Clarke Pleasants, Program Chair-Rotor, ERAU, at 928-7774730 or email at william.pleasants@erau.edu
