As business aviation flight hours have increased over the past year, the number of industry accidents also rose slightly, according to statistics released last week by business aviation safety analyst Robert E. Breiling Associates. During the first nine months of this year, the U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet experienced 34 accidents, including five fatal that resulted in 14 deaths. There were 31 crashes, four of which claimed 23 lives, in the same period last year. The business jet segment saw six accidents in the first nine months of the year, including one that killed the two-person flight crew, while there were also six crashes for the first three quarters of last year (none fatal). In the turboprop category, the number of accidents rose by three over last year to 28 in the first nine months of the year. Part 135 turboprop operations saw the worst deterioration, with the number of accidents more than doubling to 16 so far in 2010. The number of fatal turboprop crashes remained static at four but they were less costly in human life, causing 12 fatalities. The first three quarters of 2009 saw 23 accident fatalities in this segment, though this included a PC-12 crash that killed all 14 people aboard the turboprop single.