Helicopters are used for many different reasons, such as transporting offshore personnel to oil rigs and vessels; performing search and rescue operations; firefighting; and military operations. Their complex flight capabilities, including vertical take-off, forward, lateral and backward movements, and hovering ability make them ideal for accessing remote or crowded areas that a fixed-wing aircraft cannot go.
As useful as they are, helicopters can also be very dangerous if carelessness or neglect is involved. The causes of Gulf Coast helicopter accidents can be grouped into two main categories — operational or mechanical.
Offshore Helicopter Accident Information
Operational Errors
Helicopters are complicated machines that require a high degree of skill to operate safely. Operational error that leads to a crash can occur during the planning, flying, training or maintenance of the craft.
Some examples of operational error that causes helicopter accidents include:
- Failing to properly plan a flight path.
- Failing to adequately maintain the helicopter.
- Failing to operate the craft properly.
- Operating the helicopter in unsafe conditions.
- Failing to undergo appropriate training for flight and maintenance personnel.
- Failing to provide proper training manuals and operational procedures.
- Failing to follow proper oversight and review procedures.
When the cause of a helicopter accident is one or more of these human errors, there may be several different parties who are negligent. The pilot, the company who employed him, the maintenance company responsible for the craft’s upkeep, and more may all be held liable in a Louisiana helicopter injury lawsuit.
Mechanical Problems
The second type of helicopter accident cause is related to the helicopter’s mechanical processes. Helicopters are made up of many sophisticated parts, including engines, flight controls, rotors, gears, drive shafts, and electronics that all must operate correctly for safe flight to occur.
Mechanical malfunctions can include problems in the following areas:
- Design
- Testing
- Manufacturing
- Quality control
- Operational monitoring
- Maintenance
- Installation
Electrical issues are a common source of a helicopter malfunction, including electrical shorts and electrical component malfunctions.
When any component, or a combination of components, malfunction on a helicopter, the results can be tragic for those on board.
Get Help with Gulf Coast Helicopter Accident Claims
Lambert Zainey has represented pilots, passengers and survivors of victims in helicopter injury and wrongful death claims, on land and offshore, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico.
No matter the cause, helicopter accidents often result in wrongful death. For those who survive, the injuries can be debilitating and limit their ability to work and return to normal daily life. Long-term medical treatments combined with an inability to work can quickly become overwhelming financially. The parties responsible for the accident should be held liable for your physical, emotional and financial damages.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a commercial or private helicopter accident, the Lambert Firm can protect your legal rights and aggressively pursue the maximum compensation that you are entitled to. Contact a New Orleans helicopter accident lawyer today for a free consultation.
FAQs
The crash rate for helicopters is 9.84 per 100,000 hours, indicating a 35% higher risk of an accident compared to airplanes. For general aircraft — such as cargo planes and private jets — that number is 7.28 crashes per 100,000 hours of flight time.
What is the main cause of helicopter crashes? ›
Poor weather conditions are a leading cause of helicopter or rotor aircraft crashes. According to an analysis presented at a 2021 forum of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in 28% of all fatal helicopter crashes, weather was a factor.
How risky is helicopter accident? ›
Helicopters have a higher crash rate as compared to planes for several reasons, such as the following: Helicopters fly at lower altitudes and speeds than planes, which exposes them to more hazards and obstacles, such as power lines, buildings, trees, and birds.
What happens to your body during a helicopter crash? ›
Thorax injuries occur in 80% of cases. These injuries cause cardiovascular system trauma; 47.6% had a ruptured heart and 35% also had a ruptured aorta. “More than two thirds of the fatalities had abdominal injury…
How painful is a helicopter crash? ›
Chopper Crash Injuries
Spinal cord injury: Spine injuries can result in partial or total paralysis. Burn injuries: These injuries can be extremely painful and even fatal, depending on the severity and extent to which the victim is burned.
What are the odds of crashing in a helicopter? ›
Understanding a Helicopter Accident
The crash rate for general aircraft is 7.28 crashes per 100,000 hours of flight time. For helicopters, that number is 9.84 per 100,000 hours. That means helicopters have a 35 percent higher risk of crashing compared to airplanes.
Why do helicopters spin before they crash? ›
The most common reason for autorotation is an engine malfunction or failure, but autorotation can also be performed in the event of a complete tail rotor failure, or following loss of tail-rotor effectiveness, since there is virtually no torque produced in an autorotation.
What is the main cause of air crashes? ›
Pilot error is often noted as the leading cause of aviation accidents. In 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board found that “69.1% of all general aviation accidents in 2020 were caused by pilot error.” The pilot may have misjudged a situation, made a wrong decision, or lacked knowledge or training.
What is the safest helicopter? ›
The Bell helicopter family of turbine powered rotary wing aircraft is widely considered to be the safest, most reliable aircraft of any kind flying throughout the world.
What is safer, a helicopter or a car? ›
So they wonder: How safe are helicopters? The short answer is that riding in a helicopter is far less safe than flying on a commercial airline or taking an Amtrak train, but significantly safer than riding in a car or truck.
According to the Air Safety Institute's Nall Report on safety in the GA community, commercial operations generally have a lower accident rate than non-commercial flights, and helicopters have a comparably lower accident rate than GA fixed-wing planes.
Is a helicopter faster than a car? ›
The Westland Lynx helicopter in 1986 had set a record of being the fastest helicopter with a speed of 295mph/413kph and remains unbroken. In contrast, the maximum speed recorded by a car was 304mh/489kph on August 2nd,2019.
What is the most common cause of a helicopter crash? ›
The vast majority of helicopter accidents involve some form of pilot error. This can include loss of aircraft control, improper training, failure to recognize a potential crash situation, or flying while intoxicated, distracted, or overtired.
What injuries need a helicopter? ›
When to Call
- Penetrating trauma to the abdomen, pelvis, chest, neck, or head.
- Spinal cord or spinal column injury, or any injury producing paralysis of an extremity.
- Partial or total amputation of an extremity.
- Two or more long bone fractures or a major pelvic fracture.
- Crushing injury to abdomen, chest or head.
During a crash
During a loss of cabin pressure, the fall in oxygen can knock you unconscious in as little as 20 seconds.
What is the survival rate for helicopter pilots? ›
Case fatality rates and adjusted odds ratios from multivariate logistic regression models were determined using data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). During this 6-year period, 29 pilots-in-command died in 167 helicopter commuter and air taxi crashes, a case fatality rate of 17.4%.
How often do offshore helicopters crash? ›
Main conclusions from the study were that offshore heli- copter transport (Norwegian and UK sector) had a fatal accident rate of approximately 38 fatal acci- dents per million flight hours, that is 10 times higher than of scheduled airline services (fixed wing).
What happens if a helicopter engine fails? ›
Helicopters employ autorotation, a clever technique that harnesses rotor blades and air resistance, allowing them to descend gracefully when their engine fails, rather than crashing like a brick.
