Business Jet Fatalities Decreased in 2005

Last year the U.S. business jet fleet experienced fewer fatalities compared with 2004, according to aviation safety analyst Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. However, the Part 91 corporate/executive segment’s previous two-year nonfatal streak came to an end early in 2005 with the crash of a Circuit City Citation 560 on February 16 last year. That accident took the lives of both pilots and the six passengers. Two people were killed in one Part 135 business jet accident last year, compared with four accidents and 17 fatalities in 2004. Part 135 fatalities in turboprop accidents also decreased last year–from 16 in 2004 to seven in 2005. There were no fatalities involving Part 91 turboprops flown by salaried crews. However, 27 people were killed in Part 91 owner-flown turboprop accidents versus seven in 2004.