Airbus H125 / AS350 Écureuil (AStar) buyer's guide:
what the records reveal

The U.S. fleet at a glance

The FAA registry lists 942 Airbus H125 / AS350 Écureuil (AStar) aircraft, built between 1978 and 2026. The largest concentrations are registered in CA (149), DC (93), AK (81). A large, active fleet works in a buyer's favor: parts supply, mechanic familiarity and comparable sale prices are all easier to establish than on a rare type.

Where this fleet reports maintenance difficulties

FAA Service Difficulty Reports are filed by mechanics and operators when a component fails or malfunctions in service. Across the Airbus H125 / AS350 Écureuil (AStar) fleet, 772 reports have been filed against this type since 1995 — most airframes have zero reports on file, with a mean of 0.8 per airframe. The systems mechanics report most on this type:

• JASC 21 — Air Conditioning : 75 reports fleet-wide
• JASC 53 — Fuselage : 68 reports fleet-wide
• JASC 64 — Tail Rotor : 52 reports fleet-wide
• JASC 24 — Electrical Power : 49 reports fleet-wide
• JASC 29 — Hydraulic Power : 48 reports fleet-wide

Filing is voluntary, so these figures understate reality — but the RELATIVE weight of each system is exactly where an experienced buyer points the pre-buy inspection first. Reconciliation note: 1,265 further reports filed under these registrations were excluded because the aircraft model declared in the report shows they belong to previous holders of the same N-numbers.

The accident record, in numbers

The NTSB database holds 48 accident or incident records serial-matched to Airbus H125 / AS350 Écureuil (AStar) airframes in this fleet since 2008 — about 5.1 per 100 currently registered aircraft, of which 1 involved fatal injuries (most recent record: 2025). A further 21 records filed under the same N-numbers belong to different airframes (reused registrations) and are excluded.

Method: the denominator is the fleet currently on the FAA registry. Airframes destroyed and later deregistered leave that denominator, so this ratio understates lifetime accident history — read it as a fleet-profile indicator, not an accident rate. Fleet totals also reflect how the type is flown (training and commercial work versus private use), not just the machine itself.

Fleet-level counts tell you about the TYPE; what matters for your purchase is whether the specific airframe you are considering appears in that database — and U.S. registrations get reused, so a serial-number check matters. That per-aircraft lookup is exactly what a TailGuard report does.

Airworthiness directives to know about

36 airworthiness directives published since 1995 in our Federal Register database and matched to this type are currently open, including 14 recurring directives that must be re-complied with at set intervals. The full list of directives applicable to an older airframe is longer — build it at drs.faa.gov. The most recent in our database:

• AD 2023-01-04 recurring · effective 2023-03-08 — occurrence reported where during an inspection of a tail rotor head (TRH) pitch change spider, excessive play and excessive wear were detected, due to an unwant
• AD 2022-10-51 · effective 2022-06-07 — supplier report of a non- conformity occurring during production
• AD 2022-05-02 · effective 2022-03-30 — revising the existing RFM for yo
• AD 2022-01-01 recurring · effective 2022-03-07 — application of alignment markings on, and repetitive inspections of, the main rotor (MR) pitch rod upper links and, depending on findings, the accomplishment of applicable corr
• AD 2021-20-16 recurring · effective 2021-11-22 — repetitive visual inspections of the right-hand side of the vertical fin spar for discrepancies (cracking), and corrective action if necessary
• AD 2021-14-07 · effective 2021-08-19 — identification of multiple errors in the applicable service information for the AS350-series and AS355-series helicopters and of other needed changes

Superseded directives are excluded from these counts. Directives apply by type — no database can tell you whether a given airframe complied. Only its logbooks can, and that is the single most important paperwork check of your pre-buy.

Ownership turnover

Comparing monthly FAA registry snapshots from Aug 2023 to Jun 2026, 253 of the 942 observed Airbus H125 / AS350 Écureuil (AStar) airframes — 26.9% — changed registrant at least once. This includes registrant-name changes that are not market sales — such as a transfer to an owner's LLC or trust — and newly delivered aircraft registered to their first buyer within the window. A recent ownership change is not a red flag by itself, but a rapid succession of owners deserves a direct question to the seller, and the registration timeline of the specific aircraft is worth reading before you negotiate.

Before you buy a Airbus H125 / AS350 Écureuil (AStar)

A records-driven starting checklist for this type — derived from the figures above, to hand to your mechanic:

1. Inspect the air conditioning closely — it is among the most-reported systems for this type in FAA Service Difficulty Reports (75 reports fleet-wide).
2. Inspect the fuselage closely — it is among the most-reported systems for this type in FAA Service Difficulty Reports (68 reports fleet-wide).
3. Inspect the tail rotor closely — it is among the most-reported systems for this type in FAA Service Difficulty Reports (52 reports fleet-wide).
4. Verify in the logbooks that the 14 recurring airworthiness directives matched to this type are signed off at the required intervals.
5. Confirm engine and airframe times against the logbooks and the most recent annual inspection.
6. Have a licensed A&P/IA perform a physical pre-purchase inspection — no records check replaces it.