U.S. civil aviation accidents rose slightly in 2011, with the sharpest increase coming from Part 135 on-demand charter operations, according to recent stats released by the NTSB.
While the number of GA accidents grew a slight 2 percent, the number of accidents per 100,000 flight hours actually decreased somewhat from 6.63 in 2010 to 6.51 to 2011, according to the report. Deaths resulting from those accidents also dropped slightly, falling from 454 in 2010 to 444 in 2011.
Part 135 operators saw a markedly different trend, with the amount of accidents per flight hours jumping 50 percent from 1.00 in 2010 to 1.50 in 2011, the most substantial hike experienced by any civil aviation segment. Likewise, fatalities in the Part 135 sector shot up from 17 to 41.
For the second consecutive year, commercial airliners experienced no fatal accidents. The most recent fatal Part 121 accident was the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.
