SAFETYSNAPSHOT Context Is Critical: Fill Out Your GA Survey
US Helicopter Accidents, Count vs. Rate per 100,000 Flight Hours
Accident Count Accident Rate
Note: The accident rate is based on the number of flight hours estimated to have occurred in that month.
Source: FAA, Rotorcraft Standards Branch, May 2019.
10 12 14 16
8
0 2 4 6 8
8 15 11 10
4.22 2.57 3.00 3 1.29 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018
Count vs. Rate. The blue line shows the accident count (how many US helicopters had an accident in a month). The orange line shows the accident rate per 100,000 flight hours (the number of US helicopter accidents per month divided by the number of flight hours estimated to have occurred that month). While the two data sets look similar (both show that accidents were reduced in December and February), the accident rate provides more context about safety in our industry.
Counts Do Not Tell the Whole Story. Let’s say that Operator A and Operator B both had two accidents last year—sounds like they have similar safety records. But if you learned that Operator A flies 1,000 hours a year and Operator B flies 100,000 hours a year, then your opinion of their relative safety records would change.
Rates Provide Context. To compare safety performance, you need to consider the number of accidents (the count) AND the number
January 2019 3 1.11 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019
of opportunities for accidents (in this case, the number of flight hours). In the example, Operator A has an accident rate of 0.002 per 100,000 flight hours. Operator B’s accident rate of 0.00002 per 100,000 flight hours is better by a factor of 100.
Underreported Flight Hours Affects Accident Rates. Many think that the helicopter industry underreports our flight hours, which increases the margin for error in calcuating the accident rate.
Fill Out Your GA Survey. The best way to ensure that we are look- ing at accurate accident rate data? Report your flight hours on the GA survey (
www.aviationfleetsurvey.org). Help the FAA and the helicopter industry improve the accuracy of its accident data.
Did You Know? The 2017 GA survey listed 10,511 rotorcraft oper- ating in the United States. Visit
bit.ly/GA-SurveyResults to see more of the information gathered by past GA surveys.
3.53
4.43
➤ Helicopters’ Skypath Program, and the University of North Dakota University Pathways Program are good examples of career progression programs; several air- lines now have them for maintenance tech- nicians too. Access to pilots and AMTs is one advantage for operators; the other is the opportunity to influence training so that eventual hires will meet the operator’s standards and needs.
18 ROTOR SPRING 2019
Finally, HFI announced an initiative it is spearheading in the state of Utah. The Utah Rotor Pathway Program is in the develop- ment stage and is organized around indus- try partners, high schools, and universities in that state. Utah’s government leaders recognize that supporting aviation educa- tion for pilots and maintenance technicians benefits their state by providing solid career opportunities for its citizens while
building a trained aviation workforce. As we look to future meetings,
HeliFutures will work with member organi- zations at the state level to establish similar pathway programs. The group is also inves- tigating programs that will lessen the finan- cial barriers to aviation training. These could include a student loan fund and innovative employment benefits such as student loan repayment programs.
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