5 ms·

All helicopters: ~0.7 And how many of those were from equipment failure, rather than pilot error? The famous helicopter crashes that come to mind (e.g. Kobe, B

All helicopters: ~0.7 And how many of those were from equipment failure, rather than pilot error? The famous helicopter crashes that come to mind (e.g. Kobe, Bill Graham) were not from mechanical failure.

travisjungroth 6y ago
Why does it matter? Doesn't really make a difference why it happened if you're in the back.
- DrScump 6y ago
  It matters with respect to the parent comment quote about helicopter travel itself being unsafe, while statistics show it's safer than fixed wing GA.
  - michaelt 6y ago
    Chainsaw-juggling is as safe as knitting if you ignore human error. Safer, in fact, as so few chainsaw jugglers die of old age while engaging in their hobby. I'm not sure anyone would say chainsaw juggling was safe, though.
  - TylerE 6y ago
    That's a low bar. The vast majority of helicopter operations are commercial (They're EXPENSIVE, so pleasure helicopters...don't really exist), and the accident rate is far far worse than commerical fixed wing... 20x or more.
- AdrianB1 6y ago
  It matters a lot; I am flying very relaxed knowing the type the plane I fly has a very good track record of reliability and most problems happened due to pilot error. At least I know that if I respect the rules and don't do stupid things I am almost as safe as a commercial airliner and that is considered the safest means of transportation we have. And I know enough about planes not to fly a GA plane with an unknown pilot. It works for me, I have my own license, so the main criteria is the plane reliability and that is different between various models.
griffinkelly 6y ago
I was talking to a guy in my squadron whos also a rated helicopter pilot when the Kobe crash happened, and he was explaining how much easier it is to become disoriented in a helicopter because you can freely move in any direction, unlike a plane, you're always moving forward. Additionally, he was saying many helicopter pilots don't stay current in IFR flying.

travisjungroth 6y ago

Why does it matter? Doesn't really make a difference why it happened if you're in the back.

DrScump 6y ago
It matters with respect to the parent comment quote about helicopter travel itself being unsafe, while statistics show it's safer than fixed wing GA.
- michaelt 6y ago
  Chainsaw-juggling is as safe as knitting if you ignore human error. Safer, in fact, as so few chainsaw jugglers die of old age while engaging in their hobby. I'm not sure anyone would say chainsaw juggling was safe, though.
- TylerE 6y ago
  That's a low bar. The vast majority of helicopter operations are commercial (They're EXPENSIVE, so pleasure helicopters...don't really exist), and the accident rate is far far worse than commerical fixed wing... 20x or more.
AdrianB1 6y ago
It matters a lot; I am flying very relaxed knowing the type the plane I fly has a very good track record of reliability and most problems happened due to pilot error. At least I know that if I respect the rules and don't do stupid things I am almost as safe as a commercial airliner and that is considered the safest means of transportation we have. And I know enough about planes not to fly a GA plane with an unknown pilot. It works for me, I have my own license, so the main criteria is the plane reliability and that is different between various models.

griffinkelly 6y ago

I was talking to a guy in my squadron whos also a rated helicopter pilot when the Kobe crash happened, and he was explaining how much easier it is to become disoriented in a helicopter because you can freely move in any direction, unlike a plane, you're always moving forward. Additionally, he was saying many helicopter pilots don't stay current in IFR flying.