Although annual accident rates for U.S.-registered civil helicopters decreased and leveled off in the past decade, the role of human error — primarily pilot error — persists (see, “Downward Trends”).
Sixty-nine percent of the 1,653 accidents in the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) database involving U.S.-registered civil helicopters from 2001 through 2010 were attributed to pilot error.1 This implies that approximately seven of every 10 accidents were a consequence of human action — or lack of action — by pilots.
Exactly what constitutes human error? One formal definition is “an inappropriate action or intention to act, given a goal and the context in which one is trying to reach that goal.”2
Human error can include any of the following:3
- Failing to perform, or omitting, a task;
- Performing a task incorrect…
