Story ID: 
Turboprop Accidents Rise, Bizjet Rate Stabilizes
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: As business aircraft flight hours have increased over the last year, so too have turboprop accidents, according to first-half statistics released by Boca R
Word Count: 172
As business aircraft flight hours have increased over the last year, so too have turboprop accidents, according to first-half statistics released by Boca Raton, Fla.-based business aviation safety analyst Robert E. Breiling Associates. The turboprop segment saw 24 crashes in the first half, up from 14 in the first six months of last year. Of those 24 accidents, three were fatal, resulting in seven deaths. Part 135 turboprop operations saw the worst safety erosion, with 14 crashes in the first half, more than triple the number in the same period last year. Public/government users had two nonfatal crashes through June, compared with zero accidents in the first half of last year. On the business jet side, the number of accidents remained static, at five in the first half of this year and last. There were no fatal jet accidents in the first half of last year; in the first six months of this year there was one, the January crash of a cargo-carrying Learjet 35A near Chicago that claimed the lives of the two crewmembers.