Whenever there’s a high-profile helicopter crash—such as the tragic accident in 2020 that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant along with eight others in Southern California, and a more recent incident earlier this year in which six people traveling from Palm Springs to Las Vegas died—it raises questions anew over whether helicopter travel is safe.
That’s in part why specific helicopter safety improvements were included in a massive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorizing bill that President Biden signed into law on May 16. The measure strengthens FAA oversight of flight-seeing tours (a term used for sightseeing outings by air) and other commercial helicopter operations; it also calls for upgrades in safety equipment and data monitoring.
The most recent helicopter accident drew worldwide attention due to the prominence of those aboard: among them, the CEO of a leading Nigerian bank, Herbert Ogiwe, his wife and son, and the former head of the Nigerian stock exchange. The two pilots flying the Airbus EC 130 chopper, operated by California based Orbic Air, also perished.
Civilian choppers are a tourist staple in many destinations around the world, and despite the publicity that such accidents draw, safety experts say that helicopter transportation has a good safety record, better than that of small private planes.
But should you think twice before booking that flight-seeing ride over a waterfall or a copter trip to the airport?
“It’s safe enough so that when one of these events happens, it’s a major story,” says John Goglia, an aviation consultant and former member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned about whether the crash was preventable, he added.
In the case of the Mojave crash in California earlier this year, it may be too early to tell: The NTSB has sifted through the evidence at the site, where the crash left a shallow crater and a debris trail in a wide stretch of desert scrub, but the investigation is ongoing. One stumbling block is that the copter did not have a voice or data recorder aboard, which also was the case in the Bryant crash. And another similarity has emerged between the two cases: foul weather played a role, and the pilots made the decision to take off in less than ideal conditions. The Mojave crash occurred at night with limited visibility, due in part to what was described as a “wintry mix” in the skies.
Efforts to improve helicopter safety
While travelers shouldn’t be afraid to fly in a helicopter, according to Goglia, he hastened to add that more can be done to make this sector of the aviation industry safer.
The NTSB in recent years has called for greater federal oversight of the helicopter tour industry following a spate of flight-seeing accidents, including a chopper that crashed in New York City in March 2018 killing all five tourists aboard. The company that operated that flight was later cited for unsafe conditions, including a faulty passenger restraint system that prevented those aboard from escaping when the craft plunged into the East River.
In 2019, a helicopter crashed into a mountaintop during a flight over the Hawaiian island of Kaua‘i, killing the seven people aboard. In the case of the Hawai‘i crash, the itinerary was designed to showcase the dramatic Nāpali coast. Such flights in places like Hawai‘i are popular because they offer a way to experience sights that would otherwise be inaccessible. But rough terrain and changing weather conditions can be challenging.
Hawai‘i’s congressional delegation, in fact, successfully pushed for language on air tour safety to be added to the FAA measure that just passed Congress. In a statement, Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) noted that Hawai‘i had the highest total of deaths from air tour crashes in the nation, with 85 fatalities reported since the NTSB began keeping records.
Other observers say it’s not necessarily new regulations that are needed but better pilot training.
“What we’re seeing today is a lot of pilot issues, and perhaps they’re not monitoring their operations well enough,” Goglia said following the crash in February.
In both that and the Bryant case, he said, “We have helicopter pilots that disregarded weather cues in order to accomplish the mission.” As the NTSB report on the latter crash showed it stemmed from “self-imposed pressure” to get the job done, especially if it’s for a powerful client who is in a hurry.
The odds of being in a helicopter crash remain low
Statistics show that, percentage wise, the odds of being in a crash are very low. The fatal accident rate (the number of accidents that resulted in one or more fatalities) for all helicopters in the United States over the past five years was 0.73 per 100,000 flight hours, according to a recent report from the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team.
In contrast, the fatal accident rate for general aviation (an industry term for noncommercial or smaller private planes) was 1.049 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2020, the most recent year for which NTSB data is available.
Safety experts say it’s also important to distinguish between private helicopters, such as those chartered by VIPs to get quickly to their destinations, and ones that operate organized tours.
Not all are convinced
Infrequent travelers can’t be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of helicopter safety standards, a factor in the recent push for stronger oversight of airborne group tours.
Some operators are taking the initiative to reassure fliers. Several helicopter services in the New York City area, such as Blade, which specializes in airport connections and short hops to weekend haunts like the Hamptons, advertise that they meet the highest safety standards, going beyond minimum requirements.
Even so, some local politicians aren’t fans. In 2019, a helicopter crashed onto the roof of a midtown high-rise in Manhattan; no passengers were aboard, but the pilot died. Then New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on a full ban on any helicopters flying over city streets. The airport choppers, however, generally take off from helipads on the river away from the city’s tall buildings.
More recently, though, the Big Apple’s current mayor, Eric Adams, signaled his support for a new variation on traditional choppers: battery-powered air taxis. These eVTOLs, for electric vertical take-off and landing craft, make less noise and burn less fuel than traditional choppers, and backers argue that they’re safer, too. But as they have yet to enter service, it may be some time before any safety benefits are realized.
Signs of safety
For those who remain nervous about helicopter safety, there are certain indicators you can look for when researching a given helicopter operator. Helicopter companies should be very transparent about their safety standards. For instance, Hawai‘i-based Blue Hawaiian Helicopters has a “statement of safety” front and center on its homepage touting that the company goes above and beyond even FAA regulations for safety. That’s the kind of statement (with documentation to back it up) that you want to look for.
Also, there are certain questions you should ask the operator, including how long the helicopter you are flying on has been in service and what the safety record is for the aircraft, how much experience the pilot has (pilots should have at least several years of training and flying experience), what accreditations and certifications the company has, and how recent the last safety audit was.
This story was originally published in January 2020, and was updated on June 24, 2024, to include current information.
