Story ID: 
NTSB: Charter Accidents Down in 2009
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: According to the Safety Board, on-demand Part 135 operations had the lowest number of accidents and fatal accidents last year compared with any other time 
Word Count: 112
According to the Safety Board, on-demand Part 135 operations had the lowest number of accidents and fatal accidents last year compared with any other time in the past two decades. Part 135 operations reported 47 accidents, down from 58 in 2008, while fatalities also decreased to 17 in 2009 from 69 in 2008. Despite the lower flight activity last year, the on-demand accident rate decreased to 1.63 per 100,000 flight hours from 1.81 in 2008. General aviation accidents decreased from 1,566 in 2008 to 1,474 last year, though the accident rate increased to 7.20 per 100,000 flight hours last year from 6.86 in 2008 due to a decrease in the number of total flight hours. Fatal GA accidents edged down to 272 from 275 in 2008, while fatalities decreased to 474 from 494.