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Continuing decrease for helicopter accidents in regions around the world: IHST

International Helicopter Safety Team Press Release | March 6, 2018

Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 27 seconds.

The International Helicopter Safety Team has gathered accident information from countries across the globe and continues to see an encouraging trend of safer civil helicopter operations. Preliminary 2017 data from 49 countries show that most have decreasing totals for both fatal and non-fatal accidents. Looking forward, the teams plan to place a stronger focus on human factors and safety actions based on empirical analysis.

North America – United States

  • 2017: 121 accidents, 20 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 106 accidents, 17 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 121 accidents, 17 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 138 accidents, 21 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 146 accidents, 30 fatal accidents

North America – Canada

  • 2017: 26 accidents, 1 fatal accident
  • 2016: 28 accidents, 2 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 33 accidents, 5 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 34 accidents, 0 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 27 accidents, 6 fatal accidents

Europe  (32 countries)

  • 2017: 43 accidents, 11 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 52 accidents, 12 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 84 accidents, 17 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 98 accidents, 15 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 103 accidents, 25 fatal accidents

North America – Mexico

  • 2017: 12 accidents, 3 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 7 accidents, 2 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 8 accidents, 3 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 7 accidents, 1 fatal accident
  • 2013: 8 accidents, 3 fatal accidents

India

  • 2017: 2 accidents, 1 fatal accident
  • 2016: 1 accident, 1 fatal accident
  • 2015: 4 accidents, 3 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 0 accidents, 0 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 5 accidents, NA fatal accidents

CIS/Russia  (11 countries)

  • 2017: 11 accidents, 4 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 30 accidents, 12 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 22 accidents, 10 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 23 accidents, 12 accidents
  • 2013: 19 accidents, 7 fatal accidents

Brazil

  • 2017: 10 accidents, 2 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 19 accidents, 5 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 17 accidents, 6 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 20 accidents, 6 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 25 accidents, 4 fatal accidents

New Zealand

  • 2017: 14 accidents, 2 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 12 accidents, 2 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 17 accidents, 3 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 14 accidents, 5 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 21 accidents, 3 fatal accidents

Total from 49 countries

  • 2017: 239 accidents,  44 fatal accidents
  • 2016: 255 accidents,  53 fatal accidents
  • 2015: 306 accidents,  64 fatal accidents
  • 2014: 334 accidents,  60 fatal accidents
  • 2013: 354 accidents,  78 fatal accidents

Using combined data from these 49 countries, total civil helicopter accidents in 2017 were down 6 percent compared to the prior year and fatal accidents were reduced by 17 percent year-over-year. Comparing 2017 to 2013, total accidents decreased by 32 percent and fatal accidents were cut by 44 percent.

As the positive trend continues, the worldwide IHST partners will push on with expanding a culture of safety and increasing cooperation on safety issues between government and the industry and within the global helicopter community. Looking forward to 2018, the IHST and its worldwide regional teams will continue to focus on three central objectives:

  • Reduce risk and improve safety through widespread and persistent distribution of relevant educational materials.
  • Analyze the cause of accidents and develop data-driven safety actions.
  • Move the industry (manufacturers, operators, pilots and mechanics) to adopt safety practices or equipment that will reduce the number of accidents.

The IHST was formed in 2005 to lead a government and industry cooperative effort to promote helicopter safety and work to reduce accidents and fatalities.

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