Bell Textron · Helicopter
Bell 429 GlobalRanger
Is the Bell 429 GlobalRanger 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 4 fatal accidents counted in about 900,000 US flights since 2008.
Likely range 49 to 72
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 4 in 0.9 million flights
4.5 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
- 2.6
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
- 0.9 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) 2009 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US twin-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, 146 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.97, 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 0.53 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 620 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
- Twin-engine turbine helicopter
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 1.1 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 15 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 60%.
- Likely range
- 49 to 72
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
- 26 April 2022
Mercy Flight Inc, Elba, NY, United States of America: 2 of 2 people on board died.
- Aircraft destroyed
- 1
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 Bell 429 GlobalRanger 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
- One flight on the Bell 429 GlobalRangerThis aircraft1 in 460,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- 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
4 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward the score, with 6 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Flight IncBell 429 · Elba, NY, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | During recurrent training near Elba, New York, the Mercy Flight Bell 429 went deep into vortex ring state; the control inputs made the main rotor hit the tail boom and it broke up in flight. The instructor and the pilot under training died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Duke Energy Business Services LLCBell 429 · Eden, NC, United States of America | 1 killed / 3 on board | On a Duke Energy power line patrol near Eden, North Carolina, the Bell 429's main rotor blades struck the tail boom during a low climbing turn and cut the tail rotor drive shaft; it fell into trees. The pilot died and two linemen on board were badly hurt.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateBell 429 · Shreveport, LA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Flying at night from Bossier City, Louisiana, toward Center, Texas, the privately owned Bell 429 ran into low cloud and rain, banked and pitched steeply and dived into a marsh at Wallace Lake near Shreveport. The pilot and passenger died; the NTSB cited spatial disorientation.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| State OF DelawareBell 429 · Georgetown, DE, United States of America | 1 killed / 4 on board | On a hoist training flight at Delaware Coastal Airport, Georgetown, the Delaware State Police Bell 429 was hovering about 100 ft up when the hoist operator on the skid fell and died. The NTSB found the team had not made sure he was secured to the helicopter.Type: OtherNTSB docket |
The Bell 429 has one of the better US records among helicopters, but on a short history. Up to 28 October 2026, four fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward its score, with six deaths, in about 0.9 million flights. Two of the four began when the main rotor struck the tail boom in flight.
What is the Bell 429, and who flies it?
The 429 first flew in 2007 and entered service in 2009, Bell's light twin to follow the single-engine 407. It has two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1 turbines, a four-blade main rotor and room for seven passengers, on skids or wheels. Bell certified it for single-pilot flight in cloud. About 530 have been built. The FAA register shows the first US 429 in 2009 and 148 in 2026.
In the US the 429 is mainly a working helicopter: air ambulance programmes such as Mercy Flight in western New York, state police units such as Delaware's, utility companies that patrol their lines, and corporate owners. NTSB airframe hours, ADS-B tracking and the FAA's own hours for the model together show the average US 429 flies about as much as the average twin-engine helicopter.
How the score is built
We count fatal accidents in the United States since 2008, from the NTSB database, against US flights estimated from the FAA aircraft register and the FAA General Aviation survey, split between types by how much each type flies, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records and partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers (OpenSky, 2019 to 2022), then matched to the FAA's own hours for the model (FAA Table MM.1, 2008 to 2021). People who die on a hoist or rope count; people on the ground do not.
Four accidents is a small number. The 429's own record and the record of the other twin-engine turbine helicopters both weigh in its score, confidence is low and the likely range is wide. It shares its place with the AW109 and the AS355, a little behind the Sikorsky S-76 and the H130 and further behind the Airbus H145 and H135, though the likely ranges overlap. See our method and the helicopter ranking.
The four accidents
All four were work, public-use and private flights. By occurrence type, three were loss of control in flight and one other.
26 April 2022, Elba, New York. On a Mercy Flight recurrent training flight, the 429 went deep into vortex ring state, sinking into its own downwash. The control inputs made the main rotor hit the tail boom, and it broke up in flight. The instructor and the pilot under training died.
28 April 2021, Eden, North Carolina. On a Duke Energy power line patrol, the main rotor blades struck the tail boom during a low climbing turn and cut the tail rotor drive shaft; it fell into trees. The pilot died, and the two linemen on board were badly hurt.
15 February 2017, near Shreveport, Louisiana. Flying at night from Bossier City toward Center, Texas, a privately owned 429 ran into low cloud and rain, banked and pitched steeply and dived into a marsh at Wallace Lake. The NTSB cited spatial disorientation; the pilot and passenger died.
11 July 2016, Georgetown, Delaware. On a Delaware State Police hoist training flight at about 100 feet, the hoist operator on the skid fell and died. The NTSB found the team had not made sure he was secured. It counts, but it says little about the helicopter.
The two tail boom strikes came in very different flights, a training manoeuvre and a low turn on patrol, and the summaries do not point to a design fault.
What to ask an operator
- As a patient or family, ask the hospital which operator flies its programme, whether its pilots fly under instrument rules at night, and whether it holds accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.
- Crews on hoist or line work: insist on a second-person check of every attachment before anyone steps onto the skid.
- For a charter, ask for the operator's Part 135 certificate and look up the N-number in the NTSB CAROL database.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show B429. It looks like a longer, wider Bell 407, with two engine exhausts and, on many air ambulances, wheels instead of skids.
Questions people ask
Is the Bell 429 a safe helicopter?
By helicopter standards its US record is good. It shares its place with the AW109 and the AS355, a little behind the S-76 and the H130 and further behind the H135 and H145, though with four counted accidents the likely ranges overlap. Like every helicopter, it carries far more risk per flight than an airliner.
How many Bell 429 crashes have there been in the United States?
Up to 28 October 2026, four fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward our score, with six deaths. They were a training flight, a power line patrol, a private night flight and a police hoist training flight.
What happened in the Mercy Flight Bell 429 crash?
On 26 April 2022, during recurrent training near Elba, New York, the helicopter went deep into vortex ring state, a condition in which it sinks into its own downwash. The control inputs that followed made the main rotor hit the tail boom, and it broke up in flight. The instructor and the pilot under training died.
Can the Bell 429 be flown by one pilot in cloud?
Yes. Bell certified it for single-pilot flight under instrument flight rules, with an autopilot. That matters for air ambulance work at night, where losing outside references is a common cause of fatal helicopter accidents.
Sources
- 1.NTSB docket: Bell 429, Elba, New York, 26 April 2022 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 2.NTSB docket: Bell 429, Eden, North Carolina, 28 April 2021 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 3.NTSB docket: Bell 429, Shreveport, Louisiana, 15 February 2017 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 4.NTSB docket: Bell 429, Georgetown, Delaware, 11 July 2016 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 5.Bell: Bell 429 (opens in a new tab) · Bell Textron
- 6.FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey (opens in a new tab) · Federal Aviation Administration
- 7.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) 2009 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US twin-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, 146 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.97, 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 0.53 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 620 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%.