A fatal crash of a tourist helicopter in New York City on April 10th has led many people to wonder about the safety of such a tour.
Commercial tourist helicopters take visitors and no other tours available: deep into the Grand Canyon, to the hidden waterfalls of Oahu mountains above New York, offering breathtaking views with adrenaline doses.
The tour is popular. Tourism helicopters are part of the multi-million dollar industry in the US. According to the Economic Development Corporation, in New York alone, the city's helipads create a “total economic impact” of $78 million a year.
However, tourist helicopters can operate under stricter safety requirements than other commercial aircraft, such as passenger aircraft, charter aircraft, and some private jets.
The latest accident in which the pilot and five families from Spain comes after years of scrutiny about how the Federal Aviation Administration should regulate these types of tourist tours and try to strengthen rules by Congress.
How safe is helicopter?
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board, a leading federal agency investigating civil aviation accidents, shows that on average, the average fatal accident per 100,000 flight hours between 2019 and 2023 is the safest form of air transport, as on average, is the average fatal accident.
In contrast, the average fatal accident rate for all US helicopters during this period was 0.69 per 100,000 flight hours, according to the US Helicopter Safety Team, a nonprofit specializing in the safety of citizen helicopters.
Helicopters were less secure than commuter and on-demand aircraft, according to NTSB data.
However, helicopters are safer than the overall general aviation category, including privately owned non-commercial planes and recreational helicopters, with a fatal accident rate of around 0.95 per 100,000 flight hours.
Helicopters are “a complex mechanism” and require a lot of care in terms of maintenance and operation, Jeff Gutzetti, former FAA and NTSB accident investigator, said “complex aerodynamics, complex control systems and complex environments rely on more appropriate pilot actions than fixed-wing aircraft.”
Gatsetti added that pilots who strive to give tourists an adventure may attempt dangerous maneuvering. “They fly near the ground, and whether it's a building or a cliff in the Grand Canyon, they're close to what they're on tour,” he said. “All that combined makes it a more dangerous effort than getting a passenger plane from one city to another.”
Where did the helicopter tour crash?
Since 2008, the US has suffered 72 deaths, 80 commercial tourism accidents, 72 deaths, 20 accidents and 19 fatalities, followed by Florida, Nevada, Texas and Alaska. In New York, there were two accidents and 11 deaths, including a crash on April 10th.
Tourist helicopters represent just a small portion of more than 2,200 civil aviation helicopter accidents in the United States over the same period.
How are tourist helicopters regulated?
The FAA has specific rules for various flight operations based on factors such as the type of aircraft and the purpose of the flight. Regulations vary regarding aircraft maintenance, pilot qualifications and break times, and acceptable conditions for flight.
Commercial airlines are permitted to operate under the strictest set of rules, Part 121. Tourist helicopter operations can operate under less demanding part 135, which applies to unscheduled commuters and charter services, or fly under part 91 (part 91 with fewer minimum limits) covering general aviation.
With FAA approval, helicopter operators are certified in Part 135, but can operate flights under the rules of Part 91 if the helicopter departs and lands in the same location and stays within a 25-mile radius, as with many tourist tours.
According to the NTSB, the New York Helicopter Charter, the company that operated the aircraft involved in the crash crash in New York this month, had a 135-part certificate, while the fateful helicopter operated under the Part 91 rules, according to the FAA.
How important are different rules?
According to NTSB data, since 2008, most helicopter accidents include flights operating under Part 91, which are most helicopter accidents.
The part 91 flight will operate with “a much more stringent requirements than the 135 charter siblings,” Gusetti said. Part 91 operations do not have pilot flight time limits or break requirements. By comparison, Part 135 limits flight times to 8 hours every 24 hours, requiring scheduled rest times. Additionally, pilots have a more stringent training obligation.
Pilot fatigue could have contributed to the 2004 tourist helicopter accident on Kauai, according to the NTSB, where a flight operating in Part 91 crashed into the mountains, killing the pilot and all four passengers. In its report, the NTSB cited the pilot's lack of experience with local weather conditions and the lack of scheduled breaks, among other factors.
Existing federal regulations “do not properly address pilot fatigue issues related to continuous, repetitive high-frequency flight operations inherent in commercial air tour helicopter operations,” the NTSB said in its report.
John Goglier, a former NTSB board member and independent safety consultant, said pilots for these types of tours will be “clock-on for a long time” and will likely make more than a dozen flights a day. “They just fly all day,” he added.
Christopher Young, executive director of TOPS, an independent helicopter tour safety organization, said in a statement that the group advocated higher standards in the aviation tour and tourism industry, and encouraged all helicopter operators to adopt a safety process that exceeds federal requirements.
Four commercial helicopter tour operators did not return emails or calls requesting comment.
What was done to make these flights safer?
A number of notable accidents have urged the FAA to tighten rules for tourism helicopters.
After two accidents in Hawaii on the same day in July 1994, the NTSB called for industry “FAA surveillance and improved new regulations,” including deploying all commercial helicopter flights under Part 135. Helicopter pilot. The FAA did not follow these recommendations.
In 2018, a tourist helicopter conducting a doorless tour collided with New York's East River. Five passengers owned when they were unable to escape the safety harness. A few months after the accident, the FAA banned door-off flights unless passenger detention was released immediately in an emergency.
The FAA also has location-specific rules. At the Grand Canyon, agents limit the number of tours and where they can fly. In Hawaii, where visibility is inadequate, tour operators must fly at least 1,500 feet above the surface, as it was a factor in the previous crash. To fall below that level, FAA approval is required.
Safety expert Gutsetti thought there was plenty of oversight for part 135 operations, but said that part 91 was “lack.”
The law, introduced in Congress in 2023, called the Safe and Cirecies Skies Act, would have required all helicopter tours to fly under Part 135 Rules. It was not voted.
The FAA recently established a Rule-making Committee to improve safety for commercial air tours, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, with plans to submit recommendations by late September. The committee is a requirement of last year's FAA Reauthorization Act, which directs the committee to consider pilot training and maintenance standards in addition to monitoring flight data.
How do you know if helicopter tours are safe?
Before booking, Guzzetti recommends asking how many aircraft you have with the tour company and which regulations (parts 91 or 135). You can also check your company's accident history using the NTSB database. Finally, check if the operator is affiliated with a safety organization like Tops. Its members must adhere to rules that exceed FAA requirements and pass independent audits annually.
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