Understanding how accidents occur is fundamental to accident prevention. The application of classification frameworks has been proven to be effective and enable a comprehensive understanding of the root causal factors associated with incidents and accidents (Baysari et al., 2009). The current study demonstrated how the classification frameworks can be applied to exhibit the underlying conditions or events that may have contributed to helicopter accidents or incidents. Three classification frameworks, including IATA TEM-based accident classification system, Safety factor classification, and Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) were applied to analyses 22 helicopter accidents and incidents investigated by the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board over a 19 years period, i.e. 1999-2018. The application of three classification frameworks retrospectively to the helicopter-related cases revealed three major accident patterns associated with helicopter incidents and accidents, including maintenance events, environmental factors (poor visibility and terrain/obstacle), and ground event. Subsequently, the most common causal factor category and the chain of causal factors involved in each pattern were determined. The application of three classification frameworks also revealed both strengths and limitations respecting to the taxonomy and analysis process for each classification framework.

Understanding how accidents occur is fundamental to accident prevention. The application of classification frameworks has been proven to be effective and enable a comprehensive understanding of the root causal factors associated with incidents and accidents (Baysari et al., 2009). The current study demonstrated how the classification frameworks can be applied to exhibit the underlying conditions or events that may have contributed to helicopter accidents or incidents. Three classification frameworks, including IATA TEM-based accident classification system, Safety factor classification, and Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) were applied to analyses 22 helicopter accidents and incidents investigated by the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board over a 19 years period, i.e. 1999-2018. The application of three classification frameworks retrospectively to the helicopter-related cases revealed three major accident patterns associated with helicopter incidents and accidents, including maintenance events, environmental factors (poor visibility and terrain/obstacle), and ground event. Subsequently, the most common causal factor category and the chain of causal factors involved in each pattern were determined. The application of three classification frameworks also revealed both strengths and limitations respecting to the taxonomy and analysis process for each classification framework.

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