Safety Statistics
Report Finds Accidents, Fatalities For Business Aviation Rose Last Year
January 23, 2012
Business aviation safety – comparable to that for the airlines – has always been the industry’s top priority. That’s why there’s been much focus on the 2011 accidents involving fatalities among U.S.-registered business jets and turboprops, which increased from the previous year.
The data detailing the accident rates for the aircraft are included in a report issued earlier this week by Robert E. Breiling Associates Inc.
Although total accidents rose in 2011, business jets operated by professional pilots continued to demonstrate a very strong safety record and were not involved in any fatal accidents. The category was involved in 5 non-fatal accidents in 2011, an increase of 2 from 2010. Professionally piloted turboprops were involved in 5 accidents, of which 2 were fatal; compared to 3 accidents including 1 fatal accident in 2010.
For all U.S. registered business jets and turboprops, including those flown by non-professional pilots, total accidents rose to 57 in 2011, of which 13 were fatal; an increase of nine accidents from 48 in 2010, of which 7 were fatal. Total fatalities nearly doubled to 35 from 19, while the number of incidents overall increased to 101 in 2011 from 90 a year earlier.
The figures are compiled from a variety of sources, including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA. “We also get information from insurance companies,” said Robert Breiling, the author of the report.
Having reviewed the circumstances surrounding the accidents included in his report, Breiling explained that aircraft flown by owner-pilots were involved in the majority of fatal accidents in 2011. NBAA is committed to working with all types of business aircraft operators to seek continuous safety improvement. For example, NBAA created a flight operations manual template specifically designed for operators of light business airplanes (LBA). This template provides guidance on topics such as safety management systems (SMS), standard operating procedures, qualifications and training, and provides a risk assessment tool designed specifically for LBA operators.
