Crashes are tragic, but they are also rare.
According to the FAA, there were 23 fatal helicopter accidents in 2007, and 47 people died.
W spent the afternoon with Branson's only helicopter tour company to find out how it stays out of the statistics.
Ozark Mountain Helicopters is just beginning its second year in operation.
The family-owned business flies tourists from all over the country in its R-44, a small, light, but quick aircraft that seats four people including the pilot.
We played the part of passenger today to learn how the staff makes between 30 and 50 successful trips almost every day.
If you want to see Branson, rent a car.
But if you want to see Branson from a bird's eye view, rent a copter, pilot included.
“It feels like you're in an IMAX theater taking off,” says Danny Reed.
He and his wife, like many who come to Ozark Mountain Helicopters, are first-time fliers.
And after a ten minute aerial tour, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, residents are already planning trip number two.
“I’m glad we decided to do this on our last day in town."
A big reason they'll come back is because they felt safe.
“It’s a brand new helicopter. It has less than 300 hours on it,” explains Casey Evertsen of Ozark Mountain Helicopters.
Every 100 hours of flying, a mechanic familiar with the model gives it a complete inspection.
Evertsen says, “In between those we have our oil changes and filter changes every 25 and 50 hours.”
Just like your car.
But unlike your car, the copter is more selective about its passengers.
“Per seat we have a max weight of 300 pounds,” says Evertsen.
Keeping the aircraft light is the first step to keeping the flight safe.
So the KSPR news team weighed in and went up, but not until the helicopter was ready.
The key to a safe flight is a good warm up and a good cool down.
The engine has to be at least 250 degrees to take off and a maximum of 325 degrees to shut off.
Pilot Jason Preston says a common cause of crashes is something called loss of tail rotor effectiveness or LTE.
“It usually happens when you come close to a hover or you have really low air speed. So by pushing the nose over you fly out of it and get more clean air in the tail rotor,” Preston explains.
He’s never had to do that, but knowing he can made our ride a breeze.
The helicopter travels between 90 and 130 miles per hour.
Once it has flown for 2,000 hours, Ozark Mountain Helicopters will have it overhauled, meaning it will still have the shell, but all its parts will be replaced.
So the company will essentially have a brand new chopper.