Industry Sector Flight Hours versus Accident Share, 2009–2018 (%)
Commercial (air taxi, for hire) Utilities/Construction Aerial Application Personal/Private
Business/Corporate Instructional
Other (positioning, proficiency) Firefighting External Load
In terms of the percentage of hours
flown versus accident share, private
operators have the
worst ratio by far of all industry sectors, while air ambulance services have the best.
Aerial Observation/Police/News Air Tour/Sightseeing Offshore/Oil
Air Ambulance 0 5 3 4 2 4 5 6 17 3 4 4 1 0 3 4 3 5 8 10 11 7 10 15 16 20
Source: “US Helicopter Safety Team Provides an Accident Ranking for Different Areas within the Industry,” USHST Nov. 13, 2018, press release. Online:
https://bit.ly/3zpgZm7.
The wide diversity of helicopter missions— and their associated risks—means
insurance costs for
helicopter operators may vary widely as well.
fixed-wings. For helicopters, it’s not just where they fly but where they could fly,” says Gardner. “Plus, as the old saying goes, when it comes to helicopters, there’s no such thing as a partial loss. “Consider this: you do a successful autorotation and clip
a tree on the way down. Everybody lives, nobody gets hurt, but you may have destroyed a rotor blade, rotor head, or
maybe even a gearbox, and what you didn’t destroy requires inspection,” he says. “Insurance companies look at all of that and say that the cost of repairing helicopters is high. Whether it’s a fixed-wing aircraft or rotorcraft, you’re going to be rated on the ship you fly and what you do with it.” Surely, if they could, insurers would shout from the roof- tops, “Want lower rates? Stop having accidents.” Actually,
18 5 % of Flight Hours % of Total Accidents 18 16 22
FROM LEFT: HAI/KRISTAL WHITLEY; HAI/KIMBERLY KOTHMAN; HAI/MICHAEL ADAM; HAI/JULIEN BOTELLA; HAI/MIKE REYNO
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