The deadly crash of a helicopter in New York Aims on April 10 has left many people wonder how safe these tours are.
Officials are taking visitors, other excursions cannot: deep in the Grand Canyon, in a hidden waterfall in the Oahu mountains, high above New York, serving stunning adrenaline dose views.
Excursions are popular. Helicopters are part of a multi -million dollar industry in the United States. In New York alone, the city’s helicopters create a “total economic impact” of $ 78 million a year, according to the Economic Development Company.
However, helicopters can operate under less strict safety requirements than other commercial aircraft, such as aircraft, charter aircraft and some private jets.
The latest accident, which killed the pilot and a five -visit family from Spain, comes after years of control over how the federal aviation administration should regulate these types of sightseeing and an attempt by Congress to tighten the rules.
How safe is the flight to a helicopter compared to other forms of air travel?
Flight to a commercial aircraft is by far the safest form of air travel, with an average interest rate of less than 0.01 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours of flight from 2019 to 2023, according to data from the National Transport Security Council, the primary federal service.
In contrast, the average fatal accident percentage for all US helicopters during this time was 0.69 per 100,000 hours of flight, according to the US helicopter security group, a non -profit team dedicated to the security of political helicopters.
The helicopters were also less secure than travel aircraft and in demand, a category that includes private charter flights (as well as a small number of helicopters), which had an average of 0.20 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours of flight, according to NTSB data.
But the helicopters were safer than the overall General Aviation category, which includes private non -commercial planes as well as entertainment helicopters and had about 0.95 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours of flight.
Helicopters are “complex mechanisms” that require a lot of care when it comes to maintenance and functions, said Jeff Guzzetti, a former FAA and NTSB accident researcher who are also “more dependent on the appropriate pilot action due to complex aerodynamics, complicated controls, John Cox, a former air pilot who manages.
Pilots are trying to give tourists an adventure, Mr. Guzzetti added, can attempt dangerous maneuvers. “They fly near the ground and close to things that are browsed, whether it be buildings or the rocks of the Grand Canyon,” he said. “All of this is combined to make a more dangerous effort than driving an aircraft from one city to another.”
Where else did the helicopter excursions crashed?
Since 2008, there have been 80 helicopter accidents, with 72 deaths, in the United States, according to NTSB Hawaii most, with 20 accidents and 19 deaths, followed by Florida, Nevada, Texas and Alaska. In New York, there were two accidents and 11 deaths, including the crash of April 10.
Helicopters represented a small fraction of more than 2,200 Civil Aviation helicopter accidents in the United States at the same time.
How are the helicopters adjustable?
FAA has specific rules for different flight functions, based on factors such as aircraft type and the purpose of the flight. The regulations vary for aircraft maintenance, pilot qualifications and rest time and acceptable conditions to fly.
Commercial Airlines are authorized to operate in accordance with Part 121, the strictest set of rules. Sights helicopter companies can operate under the least demanding part 135, which applies to unlustrated travel and chartering services or may fly below 91, the least restrictive, which covers the General Air Force.
With the approval of FAA, helicopter operators can be certified in Part 135, but flights continue to operate in accordance with the rules of Part 91 if the helicopter departs from and territories in the same position and remains within 25 miles, as many tours do.
The New York Helicopter Company, the company that operated the aircraft that participated in the New York crash this month, had a certificate of 135, according to the FAA, but the doomed helicopter operated in accordance with the rules of 91, according to NTSB, according to NTSB, according to NTSB, according to NTSB.
How important are the different rules?
Since 2008, most helicopter accidents have been involved in flights operating in Part 91, according to NTSB data.
Part 91 The flights operate with “much less strict demands than the 135 fare brothers,” Mr Guzzetti said. Part 91 The functions do not have time limits or rest requirements for pilots. By comparison, Part 135 limits their flight time to eight hours for each 24 -hour period and requires scheduled rest time. It also has stricter training commands for pilots.
Pilot fatigue may have contributed to a fatal 2004 helicopter accident on the island of Kauai, according to the NTSB that the flight, operating below part 91, crashed into a mountain, killing the pilot and the four passengers. The NTSB reported the pilot’s inexperience with local weather conditions and the lack of scheduled breaks, including in its report.
Existing federal rules do not “adequately address the pilot fatigue issues associated with continuous, repetitive, high frequency functions that are unique to helicopter commercial work,” the NTSB told the report.
John Goglia, a former member of the NTSB Board of Directors and an independent security adviser, said the pilots for these guides “are” on the clock for a long time “, possibly making more than twelve flights a day” just flying all day, “he added.
Christopher Young, Tops Executive Director, an independent helicopter security organization, said in a statement that the team supported the highest standards on air tour and sightseeing tour and encouraged all helicopter exploitation bodies.
Four trading agents helicopters did not send emails and phone calls to ask comment.
What has been to make these flights safer?
Notable accidents over the years have pushed FAA to tighten the rules for attractions.
After two accidents in Hawaii on the same day in July 1994, the NTSB called for “improvements to the FAA supervision and new regulations” for industry, including the placement of all commercial helicopter flights below 135. FAA did not follow these recommendations.
In 2018, a helicopter in sightseeing that carried out a door -to -door tour of the eastern river in New York. Five passengers were drowned when they were unable to escape their security braids. A few months after the accident, FAA banned resources flights unless passengers’ restrictions could be released quickly in the event of an emergency.
FAA has also established rules of a specific position. In the Grand Canyon, the organization restricts the number of tours and where they can fly. In Hawaii, where poor visibility has been a factor in previous crashes, travel agents must fly at least 1,500 feet above the surface. The flight below this level requires FAA approval.
Mr Guzzetti, the security expert, said he thought there was enough supervision of the businesses of 135, but the supervision of Part 91 was “missing”.
Legislation called ACT Safe and quiet heaven, introduced in Congress in 2023, would require all helicopter excursions to fly in accordance with the rules of 135. It did not receive a vote.
FAA has recently set up a rules production committee to improve the safety of commercial excursions, including helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, with plans to make its recommendations by the end of September. This committee was a requirement of last year’s FAA review law, which also guides the Commission to examine the training and maintenance standards of pilot teachers, in addition to monitoring flight data.
How do you know if a helicopter tour is safe?
Before booking, Mr. Guzzetti recommends that you ask the tour of how many aircraft it has, which regulations (Part 91 or 135) will operate your sights and how it trains pilots. You can also search the company’s accident history in the NTSB database. Finally, check that the operator is connected to a security organization such as Tops, whose members must adhere to rules that exceed FAA’s requirements as well as pass an annual independent audit.
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