The NTSB published preliminary accident statistics for 2014 that point to a 14-percent increase in fatal general aviation accidents—to 253 last year from 222 the previous year—despite a slight drop in the total number of overall accidents, to 1,221 from 1,224.
While general aviation recorded fewer overall accidents, the accident rate for the sector increased to 6.74 per 100,000 flight hours last year from 6.26 the previous year. On-demand Part 135 operations, which include charter, air taxi, air tour and air medical flights, reported 35 accidents in 2014, down from 44 in 2013. Correspondingly, that accident rate decreased from 1.30 per 100,000 flight hours in 2013 to 1.02 in 2014. Industry-wide, there were 28 accidents involving Part 121 airline operations, while the number of accidents involving scheduled Part 135 operations declined from seven in 2013 to four last year, according to NTSB data released Thursday.