Safety
Bizav accidents decrease but fatalities increase
In the first quarter of this year, business aviation experienced fewer accidents, including those resulting in fatalities, than in the same period the prev

In the first quarter of this year, business aviation experienced fewer accidents, including those resulting in fatalities, than in the same period the previous year, but the overall number of deaths increased, according to statistics compiled by Boca Raton, Fla.-based industry safety analyst Robert E. Breiling Associates.

The overall numbers and those for the turboprop segment in particular were skewed by the March 22 crash of a Part 91 Pilatus PC-12 in Butte, Mont., which claimed the lives of all 14 people on board. Including this accident, the total of 18 fatalities among the turboprop category was double the number of deaths in the same period last year, during which there were three more accidents.