Causes of the accidents?

[quadrirotor]

I can't get an objective list of the causes of accidents with helicopters, can anyone help me to identify, the main cause (ex: contact with ground on bad weather) to the minor cause (ex: scratching your...back when in command)...:}
Thanks.

[tony 1969]

Safety sense leaflet 17 available on caa website gives some basic stats for one year I think !

[What Limits]

Sadly, I think you will find that the main cause is Controlled Flight Into Terrain. You will also find that there is almost no way of finding out the worldwide facts because there is no coordination of statistics and different states have different definitions of 'accident'.

[VeeAny]

I am currently working on an accident database that does produce stats for this kind of thing and I think that WhatLimits mentioned my biggest problem up to now, differing definitons of what is or is not an accident, which does seem to change nationally from decade to decade.

However with data from about 15 different national authorities it is extremely difficult to assemble all this into a common format, even within one country they record data differently now than they did years ago.

With 12000+ accidents up to now, causal factors are not always obvious to extract from the reports, so what I have decided to do is to work backwards and try to encode the data in a meaningful way, but this is nowhere near complete.

It does show interesting trends in my eyes with regards to time of year and certain types (usually weather related).

Gary

[Shawn Coyle]

I just attended the International Helicopter Safety Team's 2007 meeting in Montreal (an article on same will be in a future issue of Vertical).
They did an excellent job of slicing and dicing the data for year 2000 accidents in the USA. Amazing job of determining the leading factors (not supposed to say 'cause' any more...).
Should be on their website somewhere....
Shawn

[alouette3]

You could also do it the hard way.Go the the NTSB website.Pull up the aviation accidents listings,pick out the ones with helicopters in them and read the reports.:eek:That is a tough way to do it,and, at the end of it , you will only have info. on accidents in the USA and it will be a mish mash of private as well as commercial operations.But it is a start____.
Alt.3

[skidsock]

If you go the the OGP (ogp.org.uk/Publications) website, you can stats on oil related accidents. The reports are called Safety performance of helicopters in the oil and gas industry.

[topendtorque]

You could go to the ATSB/R22 report over the page and read that - and you'll find that it's the ground or something man made attached to it.

Next you could suggest a solution.

[quadrirotor]

Thanks to all, i check!

[Flying Bull]

Hi quadrirotor,

main cause - human.
Sure there is the one or the other mechnical or electrical failure - sometimes due to human errors, sometimes due to other causes.
But normally the pilot should be trained to cope with failures - even engine failures, thats why we train autorotations.
But doing low flying, planing direct ways with SE over water and/or woods, stuff like that (o.k., bosses want the short way) and the wrong reactions in case of a failure - makes an accident.
Show offs, poor preflights, short of fuel, forgeting to due the checks, hurrying into situations, lots of human causes ...

be aware, that the pilot is the greatest risk, and don't push yout luck to often and you might become an old pilot....

Greetings Flying Bull

[Flyin'ematlast]

Hi

Have you tried the book "Fatal Traps for Helicopter Pilots" by Greg Whyte? I lent my copy to my instructor 18 months ago and haven't seen it since.:rolleyes:

It describes the main causes of accidents, one per chapter, (vortex ring, flight into terrain, wire strikes etc), cites one or two crash reports involving each accident cause then discusses how the cause arises and how to avoid it.

Along with my avid reading of the AAIB reports this book convinced my wife I was nutty until I explained that I didn't want to repeat others' mistakes and not come home.

I would recommend it to any other student of helicopters.:ok:

Good luck

Ian.