Airbus Helicopters (Aerospatiale, Eurocopter) · Helicopter
Airbus H125 / AS350 Ecureuil (AStar)
Is the Airbus H125 / AS350 Ecureuil (AStar) safe? It ranks Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary of 16 helicopters we rate, with 35 fatal accidents counted in about 9.5 million US flights since 2008.
Likely range 50 to 60
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 35 in 9.5 million flights
3.7 fatal accidents per million flights. Counted: all civil flights in the United States since 2008 (private, charter, air ambulance, utility, training and other), accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: accidents outside the United States or before 2008, military, test and illegal flights, sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 30.1
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 9.5 million
Estimated flights of all kinds in the United States since 2008. Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US single-engine turbine helicopters in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 846 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (1.31, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022, then matched to the FAA's own hours for this model in 2008-2021), at 0.74 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 553 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±20%.
- Technology generation
- Single-engine turbine helicopter
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 3.8 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 30 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 94%.
- Likely range
- 50 to 60
The score is 90% likely to lie in this range, given how few accidents a type has and the error in the estimate of its flights.
- Last fatal accident
- 15 September 2026
Angel City Air, Chatsworth, CA, United States of America: 2 of 2 people on board died.
- Aircraft destroyed
- 17
Aircraft the NTSB coded as destroyed in an accident in the United States since 2008, fatal or not, from all causes. The NTSB codes many wrecks as only substantially damaged, so the real number is higher (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Airbus H125 / AS350 Ecureuil (AStar) carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A day of skiing1 in 830,000
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- One flight on the Airbus H125 / AS350 Ecureuil (AStar)This aircraft1 in 310,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
35 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward the score, with 96 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angel City AirEurocopter AS350 B2 · Chatsworth, CA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Filming a traffic accident for NBC4 near Chatsworth, California, the AS350B2 slowed almost to a hover at about 800 ft and crashed, killing the pilot, the reporter and one person on the ground. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| Department OF Homeland SecurityEurocopter AS350B3 · Potrero, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a Customs and Border Protection support flight near Potrero, California, the pilot, back from sick leave, lost control after turns and a fast descent; the AS350B3 crashed and he died. He was likely incapacitated, for reasons not found.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: OtherNTSB docket | |
| US Helicopters IncEurocopter AS350B2 · Hammonton, NJ, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Returning to Philadelphia at night after filming a news scene near Smithville, New Jersey, the 6ABC news AS350B2 crashed near Hammonton; the pilot and videographer died. The NTSB could not determine why it descended into the ground.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| PrivateAmerican Eurocopter AS350 · Pioche, NV, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Moving downhill from a ridge to a fuel truck near Pioche, Nevada, the AS350B3e's 70 ft long line caught the tail rotor, which came off; the pilot lost control and both on board died. He had not cleared the line from the ground.Type: OtherNTSB docket | |
| Safari Aviation Inc.Eurocopter AS350B2 · Kekaha, HI, United States of America | 7 killed / 7 on board | On the last tour of the day over Kauai, Hawaii, the Safari AS350B2 pilot flew on into rain and fog and hit a mountain slope near Kekaha; all seven died. The operator and the FAA did too little about air tour flights into cloud.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Mountain Air Helicopters IncEurocopter AS350 · Montgomery, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 3 on board | During controlled fire work over trees near Montgomery, Texas, the AS350B3's engine lost power because a fuel line had been left loose and unwired after maintenance; it autorotated into trees and one of three on board died.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Enbridge Energy CO IncEurocopter AS350 · Odanah, WI, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a pipeline patrol from Ironwood, Michigan, the Enbridge AS350B3 crashed into woods near Odanah, Wisconsin, and burned; the pilot died. The NTSB found a loss of control for undetermined reasons; he had serious heart disease.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateEurocopter AS350 · Gustavus, AK, United States of America | 3 killed / 4 on board | Flying his new AS350B3 home with a safety pilot and two passengers, the private pilot rolled the throttle to idle over Lituya Bay, Alaska, as if to practise an autorotation, and let rotor speed decay; it hit the water and three of four died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Air Methods CorpEurocopter AS350 B2 · Hazelhurst, WI, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Repositioning at night to Woodruff, Wisconsin, after two air ambulance flights, the tired pilot likely fell asleep; the AS350B2 rolled steeply right and fell inverted near Hazelhurst while the crew shouted his name. All three died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Liberty Helicopters IncEurocopter AS350B2 · New York, NY, United States of America | 5 killed / 6 on board | On a FlyNYON doors-off photo flight over New York, a passenger's harness tether caught the floor fuel shutoff lever and stopped the engine; the AS350B2 ditched in the East River and capsized. All five passengers, tethered in, drowned; the pilot got out.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Temsco Helicopters, Inc.Eurocopter AS350 · Skagway, AK, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Returning from a glacier dog camp near Skagway, Alaska, in worsening snow, the non-instrument-rated pilot tried several routes, flew into cloud and hit snow-covered mountainside; he died. He felt pressure to finish the flights.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Metro Aviation Inc.Eurocopter AS350 B2 · Enterprise, AL, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | Leaving a crash site near Goodman, Alabama, at night with a patient, the pilot took off into fog and low cloud, became disoriented and lost control within a minute; the AS350B2 hit trees and all four died. He felt pressure to finish the mission.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Air Methods CorpEurocopter AS350 · Superior, AZ, United States of America | 2 killed / 3 on board | Repositioning to base with two medical crew, the AS350B3 flew low and fast through mountains near Superior, Arizona; past the hydraulic system's limits, servo transparency set in and the pilot lost control. Two of three died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateEurocopter AS350B3E · Carlsbad, CA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Trying to land his new AS350B3e on a dolly at Carlsbad, California, against instructors' advice to fly with one, the private pilot touched down partly on it several times; it rolled, spun and broke up. Both died. Two psychoactive drugs impaired him.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Air Methods CorpEurocopter AS350B3E · Frisco, CO, United States of America | 1 killed / 3 on board | Lifting off a hospital helipad at Frisco, Colorado, the AS350B3e had no hydraulic boost to the pedals after a preflight check left a switch wrong, with no clear alert; it spun into a parking lot and burned. The pilot died, two nurses were hurt.Type: System failureNTSB docket | |
| Eaglemed LLCEurocopter AS350 B2 · Eufaula, OK, United States of America | 1 killed / 3 on board | Positioning back to base at night after a patient flight, the EagleMed AS350B2 flew into cloud west of Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma; the pilot turned, became disoriented and descended into trees. One of three on board died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Helicopters IncEurocopter AS350 B2 · Seattle, WA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Lifting off a Seattle rooftop helipad to reposition after refuelling, the AS350B2 began to spin and fell into Broad Street, where it burned; both on board died. Hydraulic boost to the controls was lost, for reasons the fire damage hid.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: System failureNTSB docket | |
| Hospital WingEurocopter AS350 B3 · Somerville, TN, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Dispatched at night to collect a patient, the Hospital Wing AS350B3 climbed into cloud near Somerville, Tennessee, while the pilot reacted to an obstacle alert; he lost control and it hit trees steeply. All three on board died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Eaglemed LLCEurocopter AS350B2 · Talihina, OK, United States of America | 1 killed / 4 on board | Taking off along a road beside a hospital at Talihina, Oklahoma, the EagleMed AS350's main rotor struck a 40 ft lamp post the pilot had not seen or briefed; it hit the ground on its side and one of four on board died.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| State OF AlaskaEurocopter AS350 · Talkeetna, AK, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Flying a rescued snowmobiler out at night near Talkeetna, Alaska, the state public safety AS350B3 pilot pressed on into worsening weather, became disoriented and lost control; all three died. A punitive culture and weak safety management were also causal.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Eaglemed LLCEurocopter AS350 B2 · Oklahoma City, OK, United States of America | 2 killed / 3 on board | Departing a hospital helipad in Oklahoma City at night, the EagleMed AS350B2 lost engine power when ice from the uncovered air intake was sucked in; it fell into a parking lot and burned. Two of three died.Type: IcingNTSB docket | |
| Chopper II LLCEurocopter AS350B · Camp Verde, AZ, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | Flying low through the Verde River canyon south of Camp Verde, Arizona, the AS350 hit an unmarked survey cable 39 ft above the river; all four on board died. An antihistamine likely impaired the pilot's judgment.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Sundance Helicopters IncEurocopter AS350B2 · Las Vegas, NV, United States of America | 5 killed / 5 on board | On a twilight air tour from Las Vegas toward Hoover Dam, the Sundance AS350 became uncontrollable when a servo input rod came apart; a worn self-locking nut had been reused and a split pin left out. All five on board died.Type: System failureNTSB docket | |
| Era Helicopters LLCEurocopter AS350 B2 · Iliamna, AK, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying alone back to base after a seismic survey job, the pilot hit marshy tundra at high speed 7 miles short of Iliamna, Alaska, and died; the AS350 had no fault. The NTSB found severe heart disease likely incapacitated him.Type: OtherNTSB docket | |
| Lifenet OF The HeartlandEurocopter AS-350-B2 · Mosby, MO, United States of America | 4 killed / 4 on board | On an EMS flight with a patient near Mosby, Missouri, the AS350 ran out of fuel on its way to refuel and the pilot did not enter an autorotation; all four died. He had left knowing fuel was critically low, and was tired and texting.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| LifenetEurocopter AS350 B3 · Tucson, AZ, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Repositioning to base after engine work, the air ambulance AS350B3 lost all engine power over Tucson, Arizona: a fuel inlet union had been fitted wrongly. Autorotating over power lines, it hit a concrete wall and burned; all three died.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| EaglemedEurocopter AS350 B2 · Kingfisher, OK, United States of America | 2 killed / 3 on board | Flying to collect a patient near Kingfisher, Oklahoma, the EagleMed pilot began a low-level maneuver to show how a coyote hunt is flown; the AS350 hit trees and the ground and two of three died. Medications in his system likely impaired his judgment.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Hospital WingEurocopter AS-350-B3 · Brownsville, TN, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Near the end of his 12-hour shift, the pilot set off on a dark positioning flight from Jackson, Tennessee, toward an approaching storm; the AS350B3 met heavy rain and severe turbulence near Brownsville and crashed. All three on board died.Type: Windshear or stormNTSB docket | |
| Air ambulanceEurocopter AS350 · EL Paso, TX, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | On a night practice EMS flight to a simulated pickup in a desert range near El Paso, Texas, the pilot, on his first solo night vision goggle flight, lost awareness of the dark terrain and flew the AS350 into the ground; all three died.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Air ambulanceEurocopter AS350BA · Doyle, CA, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Heading back to base after leaving a patient at Reno, the AS350 crew flew on a dark night among clouds with icing near Doyle, California; the pilot likely became disoriented while avoiding cloud and lost control. All three on board died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Air ambulanceEurocopter AS-350 · Georgetown, SC, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Returning to base at night after a patient transfer, the AS350 pilot carried on into rain and low cloud near Georgetown, South Carolina, became disoriented and lost control; all three on board died. The operator's control center gave poor oversight.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Liberty HelicoptersEurocopter AS350 BA · Hoboken, NJ, United States of America | 6 killed / 6 on board | Over the Hudson River near Hoboken, New Jersey, a Piper PA-32 hit the Liberty Helicopters AS350 on a sightseeing tour; all six in the helicopter and three in the plane died. The limits of see-and-avoid and a distracted controller were causes.Type: Mid-air collisionNTSB docket | |
| Island Express HelicoptersEurocopter AS-350-D · Avalon, CA, United States of America | 3 killed / 6 on board | Descending toward Santa Catalina Island on an air taxi flight, the AS350D's engine failed with a bang and flames when a power turbine blade broke from fatigue. Autorotating over buildings and power lines, it crashed short of the landing area; three of six died.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Era HelicoptersEurocopter AS350 B2 · Chickaloon, AK, United States of America | 4 killed / 5 on board | On a Part 135 flight taking technicians to remote sites near Sheep Mountain, Alaska, the AS350's main rotor likely touched snow-covered ground; the overtorque broke the engine-to-transmission drive and it crashed. Four of five died; the survivor was found next morning.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Metro Aviation, Inc.Eurocopter AS350B2 · S. Padre Island, TX, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Flying at night to collect a patient near South Padre Island, Texas, the EMS pilot went into cloud and lost control; the AS350 hit the Laguna Madre inverted and all three on board died. The pilot had almost no recent instrument flying experience.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket |
On 11 March 2018, on a doors-off photo flight over New York, a passenger's harness tether caught the fuel shutoff lever on the floor of an AS350 and stopped the engine. The helicopter ditched in the East River and capsized, and all five passengers, tethered in, drowned. Like most of the AStar's record, it says more about how the helicopter is used than how it is built. Up to 28 October 2026, 35 fatal US accidents since 2008 count toward its score, with 96 deaths. Per flight, it sits behind the H130, just behind the Bell 407 and level with the Bell 206: the data cannot tell those three apart.
What is the AStar, and who flies it?
The AS350 Ecureuil first flew in 1974 and is sold in North America as the AStar; the current model is the H125. It has one turbine (most use a Safran Arriel), a three-blade main rotor and hydraulically boosted controls, and seats a pilot and up to six passengers. The US register grew from about 640 in 2008 to about 850 in 2026 in our count. In our records, AStars fly air ambulances, air tours in Hawaii, Las Vegas and New York, news crews, heli-skiers and utility long-line work in Alaska and the West.
How the score is built
We use fatal accidents in the United States since 2008, from the NTSB database, and about 9.5 million US flights, from take-off to final landing, estimated from the FAA register and the FAA General Aviation survey. Accidents off the US coast, the Gulf of Mexico included, count; accidents in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are left out. Each type's share of its class's flights follows its registered aircraft and how much that type flies, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records and partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers from 2019 to 2022. For AStars that is then matched to the FAA's own hours for the model (FAA Table MM.1, 2008 to 2021). With their tour and air ambulance work, they made about a quarter more flights per aircraft than the average single-engine turbine helicopter.
Every helicopter scores far below airliners. The H125 is behind the Airbus H130, its wide-cabin derivative, just behind the Bell 407 and level with the Bell 206, though the likely ranges of the three overlap, and ahead of the MD 500 and all three Robinsons. See our method and the helicopter ranking.
Night air ambulance flights
Of the 35, 22 were work, public-use, air ambulance and private flights, 7 positioning and 6 passenger flights. Sixteen were air ambulance flights, with 41 deaths. Ten happened at night. The usual pattern: a pilot meets cloud or rain in the dark, loses visual references and then control. Fatigue appears too; near Hazelhurst, Wisconsin, on 26 April 2018, the pilot of a repositioning AS350 likely fell asleep.
Two involved the hydraulic boost that moves the controls. At Frisco, Colorado, on 3 July 2015, a switch left in the wrong position after a preflight check took away boost to the pedals without a clear alert. Near Superior, Arizona, on 15 December 2015, an AS350 flown low and fast beyond the hydraulic system's limits stiffened in the pilot's hands (servo transparency).
Air tours
Four of the six passenger flights were tours: the mid-air collision with a Piper over the Hudson on 8 August 2009 (six in the helicopter and three in the plane died); the Sundance crash near Las Vegas on 7 December 2011, after a worn, reused locknut and a missing split pin let a servo rod come apart (five dead); the FlyNYON flight; and the Safari tour that flew into rain and fog near Kekaha, Kauai, on 26 December 2019 (seven dead).
If you book one:
- Ask whether the operator holds a Part 135 certificate or flies under a Part 91 letter of authorisation, and look up its helicopters in the NTSB CAROL database.
- Book early in your trip, so a weather cancellation costs you nothing and nobody feels pressure to fly.
- On a doors-off flight, practise opening your harness on the ground, and keep straps, camera cords and bags away from the floor.
News helicopters
News AStars crashed near Hammonton, New Jersey, on 19 December 2023, and at Chatsworth, California, on 15 September 2026. The NTSB could not determine why the Hammonton helicopter descended into the ground, and the Chatsworth case is still open.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show AS50. The twin-engine AS355 TwinStar looks almost the same; the H130 has a wider cabin and a tail rotor inside a ring.
Questions people ask
Is the AStar helicopter safe?
Its US record per flight since 2008 is behind the Airbus H130, just behind the Bell 407, level with the Bell 206, and far below an airliner's, as for every helicopter. Few official findings point to the design itself. The largest group, 16 of the 35 counted accidents, was air ambulance flights, many at night or in poor weather.
How many AS350 and H125 crashes have there been in the United States?
Up to 28 October 2026, 35 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward our score, with 96 deaths. The type's long fatal history abroad and before 2008 is not used, because the flight count covers US flights since 2008 only.
Are doors-off helicopter flights safe?
They add one risk of their own: loose straps and gear in an open cabin. On 11 March 2018 over New York, a passenger's tether caught the floor fuel shutoff lever of an AS350 and stopped the engine; the five passengers, tethered in, drowned after it ditched. Before a doors-off flight, make sure you can release your own harness in seconds.
Is the H125 the same as the AS350?
Yes. Airbus renamed the AS350 B3e the H125, and AStar is the name the type was sold under in North America. Flight trackers show all of them as AS50.
Sources
- 1.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350B2, New York, New York, 11 March 2018 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 2.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350B2, Kekaha, Hawaii, 26 December 2019 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 3.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350B2, Las Vegas, Nevada, 7 December 2011 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 4.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350 BA, Hoboken, New Jersey, 8 August 2009 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 5.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350B3E, Frisco, Colorado, 3 July 2015 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 6.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350, Superior, Arizona, 15 December 2015 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 7.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350 B2, Hazelhurst, Wisconsin, 26 April 2018 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 8.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350B2, Hammonton, New Jersey, 19 December 2023 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 9.NTSB docket: Eurocopter AS350 B2, Chatsworth, California, 15 September 2026 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 10.SafetyScorer exposure model: FAA aircraft register, FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey, OpenSky ADS-B, NTSB airframe hours (opens in a new tab)Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US single-engine turbine helicopters in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 846 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (1.31, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022, then matched to the FAA's own hours for this model in 2008-2021), at 0.74 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 553 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±20%.