When equating the features of helicopters, such as safety, two different perspectives might be considered. One is the comparative safety between different makes and models of helicopters. The other is the comparative safety between helicopters and other modes of air travel.
The primary difference between the airplane and the helicopter is the direction that the 'wings' move. The power required to hover in a helicopter is not much more than the power required to fly in an airplane; if the helicopter were designed solely for hover. This small difference in power is demonstrated by the fact that a man-powered airplane has been flown, and a number of intelligent people are out to prove that it is possible to build a man-powered helicopter.
One excellent possibility for improving rotorcraft is the unifying of slow turning large chord rigid rotors with a horizontal thrust device, somewhat similar to a plane.
IMHO it's time for the helicopter industry to spend more money in their engineering departments developing better craft, and spend less money in their marketing and legal departments, promoting inadequate products and inhibiting progress.
Then again perhaps it can't be done. Perhaps today's management, particularly in America, is more concerned with the next day's stock price then the next decade's product line.
