World politicians and celebrities love their helicopters, despite the frequency of accidents

As Iran mourns the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and three senior officials who died when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region bordering Azerbaijan on Sunday, concerns about helicopter safety have once again come into the spotlight.

Raisi joins a long list of world leaders and celebrities who have lost their lives in helicopter crashes, a grim record that also includes NBA legend Kobe Bryant, Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and, more recently, Sebastian Piñera, the former president of Chile.

Iranian officials blame U.S. sanctions for contributing to Raisi’s death, claiming that the sanctions have significantly affected Iranian aviation’s maintenance and safety standards. However, data shows that flying in a helicopter is one of the most dangerous types of air travel.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), helicopters crash more often than any other type of aircraft. The crash rate for helicopters is 9.84 per 100,000 hours, which represents a 35% higher risk of accidents compared to airplanes. For general aircraft – such as cargo planes and private jets – the figure is 7.28 crashes per 100,000 flight hours. Commercial airliners have a far lower crash rate than both.

The most common factor in helicopter accidents is pilot error, often due to fatigue, extreme pressure or handling complex equipment, according to flight training provider Pilot Institute.

“There are reasons why pilot error is even more likely with a helicopter than with an airplane. First, most helicopters require more hands-on flying than fixed-wing aircraft,” the group said.

Helicopters are also inherently more difficult to control and fly at lower altitudes and slower speeds than airplanes, which exposes them to challenges such as weather and obstacles.

Still, many aviation experts argue that helicopters remain a relatively safe form of transportation, especially compared to cars. According to the US Helicopter Safety Team, the fatal accident rate between 2019 and 2023 was 0.73 per 100,000 flight hours. While the number of road deaths is tabulated in different ways, the most recent government statistics estimate 1.35 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

Helicopter safety statistics also do not take into account that many helicopters are used for tasks that require precise maneuvers in demanding environments, such as medical evacuations and firefighting.

Notable helicopter deaths

Earlier this year, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera died when his helicopter crashed into a lake in southern Chile. Piñera was personally piloting the helicopter to his home in Coique Bay to have lunch with his family when he lost control of the aircraft about a quarter mile from shore and crashed into the water. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

In 2020, the sports world was shocked by the death of basketball player Kobe Bryant. He, his daughter Gianna and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, amid dangerous fog.

And in 2018, another high-profile accident occurred when Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, owner of English football club Leicester City, died in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England. Four of the five people on board survived the initial accident but died when the helicopter exploded, likely due to a fuel leak.