Statistics RVDT, can sometimes be useful. If the time was taken to analyse the piloting skill as main contributor I believe you would not get any better or worse than many other products, except for Enstrom which until recently was exceptionally good.
I think you would also be well aware of the problems we had with cracked and broken Bell 47 grips some moons ago which claimed one life and went within minutes of claiming either two or one other, self included.
For example, one of the latest "stars" found mother earth at speed, without IFR training or instruments whilst heading in a westerly direction and the last radio transmission reported following the tail light of the preceding helicopter.
Now, the preceding machine was ten minutes ahead and travelling in an Easterly or NE direction. I know my eyesight is not that good and I guess you being an OZ and I think well experienced in Northern OZ would know what particular piece of illumination sits at an appropriate height above the western horizon about 45 minutes after sundown and could be mistaken as a R22 tail light in close proximity?
For those who live in different climes and may not see it, what we would be looking at would be Mars. Sick to the bottom of your guts reading this? I don't blame you.
There have been plenty, plenty more of those non VFR night time accidents in R22's. No doubt someone will come on here and criticise my post as being in poor taste, as they have elsewhere, but Jesus how f'n stupid do you wish to get to claim a Darwin award and tarnish the statistical reputation of an aviation product? Once again a young family was left behind and everybody is running around falling all over each other wringing their hands and wailing.
There has also been a steady increase of accidents that upon reflection are nothing other than collision with terrain in an out of control situation, usually from the Low Level operated sphere, either by plain stupidity or lack of skill because of an abysmal lack of mentoring and or useful ab-initio training.
Figures relating to catastrophic failure on the other hand are very slight, not that I am any happier as to the latest state of affairs than anyone else, in fact I agree these Robinson blade problems are and have been a massive root right from the first one, the unfortunate victim of which I had met.