Helicopter tours

Are helicopter tours safe?

Most are, but they are far riskier than the airline flight that got you to Hawaii or New York. A study of NTSB and FAA data by Ballard, Beaty and Baker found that US commercial air tours crashed 2.7 times per 100,000 flight hours in 2000–2010. One crash in five killed someone, and on average 3.5 people died in each fatal crash. That works out to roughly 3 to 5 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per flight hour, or 2 to 5 for a typical tour of 30 to 60 minutes. A skydive is about 4.

The rate depends a lot on which rulebook the operator flies under, and on whether the pilot turns back when the weather closes in.

Part 91 or Part 135: why it matters

US tour operators fly under one of two sets of rules. Part 135 is the regime for charter airlines, with an FAA operating certificate, approved training and maintenance programmes, and duty limits. Part 91, the general aviation rulebook, lets an operator with a Letter of Authorization fly nonstop sightseeing tours that begin and end at the same place within 25 statute miles, with much lighter oversight.

The difference shows up in the numbers:

Period	Part 91 tours	Part 135 tours	Source
2000–2010, all air tours	3.4 crashes per 100,000 h	2.3	Ballard 2013
2014–2024, helicopter tours	3.94 accidents per 100,000 h	1.23	Sanchez 2026

The 2026 study of 55 helicopter tour accidents found that mechanical and maintenance problems started 52% of the Part 91 accidents, and that Part 91 fleets were mostly piston helicopters while Part 135 operators flew mostly turbine types. Researchers have called for an end to the 25-mile exception since at least 2014.

What brings tour helicopters down

Three patterns recur in NTSB reports.

Flying into cloud. On 26 December 2019 a Safari Aviation tour helicopter flew into low cloud and rain over Kauai and hit terrain, killing the pilot and six passengers. Other tour pilots had turned away from the same weather. The NTSB blamed the pilot's decision to continue, the operator's lack of a safety management system and the FAA's slow rollout of weather cameras and oversight in Hawaii.

Mechanical failure. In Hawaii, aircraft malfunctions, mostly from poor maintenance, started 58% of the 59 tour helicopter crashes from 1981 to 2008. Engine failure over a valley or the sea leaves the pilot nowhere to land.

Unexplained loss of control. On 10 April 2025 a Bell 206L-4 flown by New York Helicopters on a Part 91 tour of Manhattan dropped into the Hudson River near Jersey City. All six aboard died. The NTSB's preliminary report shows a rapid descent from about 675 feet; its final report is still pending.

What has changed

Hawaii got its own rules in 1994, including a minimum height over terrain, and the crash rate fell 47%, from 3.4 to 1.8 per 100,000 flight hours. After Kauai, the NTSB pressed for flight tracking, cue-based weather training for pilots and safety management systems. The FAA's 2024 rule now requires every Part 135 operator and every Part 91 tour operator to run a safety management system by 28 May 2027.

How to pick a safer helicopter tour

1. Ask which rules the flight runs under and prefer a Part 135 operator. Its certificate number should be easy to give.
2. Ask what happens in bad weather. A good answer is that the pilot can cancel, shorten or reroute without losing pay, and that you get a refund or rebooking.
3. Prefer turbine helicopters for tours over water or mountains; the 2026 study linked piston fleets to more mechanical accidents.
4. Listen to the safety briefing, find the life vest and practise opening your seat belt or harness. Ask for a flotation-equipped aircraft over water.
5. Be wary of doors-off flights unless you can release your own harness with one movement, and keep loose straps and cameras away from the controls.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (72) reflects about 2 to 5 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per tour on US data, in the same band as a balloon ride. Injury risk (85) is good because crashes are rare per flight. Controllability (50) and environment (55) are the weak points; passengers depend on the pilot's weather decisions and the operator's maintenance, often over terrain where a forced landing is not possible. Private flying carries more risk per hour, but there the pilot's own skill makes more of the difference.