The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) views its most important responsibility as advancing business aviation safety and fostering development of industry safety best practices. Thanks to ongoing commitments to safe operating practices by NBAA and the professionals involved in business flying, the industry has achieved a level of safety comparable to that for the commercial airlines.
One measure of the industry’s safety record can be found in the accident data made available each year by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The data is divided into two categories – “corporate” and “business” operations which are designations that mostly relate to crew requirements, but are not related to the type of business involved.
For example, flights under a “corporate” designation are those in which the aircraft is flown by a two-person, professional crew. For these types of operations, the accident rate in 2010 was 0.07 per 100,000 hours – which is better than that of the scheduled air carriers (0.16 per 100,000 hours). For flights conducted under the “business” category, in which a two-person professional crew is not required, the NTSB’s accident rate was 0.79 per 100,000 hours.
| Aircraft Accident Rates, 1990–2013 (per 100,000 flight hours) 1 | ||||||
| Year | General Aviation 2 Total/Fatal |
Air Taxi 3 Total/Fatal |
Commuter Air Carriers 4 Total/Fatal |
Airlines 5 Total/Fatal |
Corporate/ Executive 6 Total/Fatal |
Business 7 Total/Fatal |
| 1990 | 7.77/1.56 | 4.76/1.29 | 0.641/0.171 | 0.198/0.171 | 0.210/0.090 | 3.71/0.96 |
| 1991 | 7.91/1.57 | 3.93/1.25 | 1.004/0.349 | 0.221/0.034 | 0.230/0.080 | 3.08/0.82 |
| 1992 | 8.51/1.81 | 2.67/0.84 | 0.942/0.300 | 0.146/0.032 | 0.210/0.080 | 2.17/0.68 |
| 1993 | 9.03/1.74 | 2.97/0.82 | 0.606/0.152 | 0.181/0.008 | 0.230/0.070 | 2.02/0.52 |
| 1994 | 9.08/1.81 | 3.45/1.05 | 0.359/0.108 | 0.168/0.030 | 0.180/0.070 | 1.81/0.51 |
| 1995 | 8.21/1.63 | 3.02/0.97 | 0.457/0.076 | 0.267/0.022 | 0.250/0.110 | 2.04/0.67 |
| 1996 | 7.65/1.45 | 2.80/0.90 | 0.399/0.036 | 0.269/0.036 | 0.140/0.060 | 1.68/0.34 |
| 1997 | 7.17/1.36 | 2.65/0.48 | 1.628/0.5098 | 0.309/0.025 | 0.230/0.060 | 1.41/0.39 |
| 1998 | 7.43/1.41 | 2.03/0.45 | 2.262/0.000 | 0.297/0.006 | 0.091/0.000 | 1.14/0.30 |
| 1999 | 6.50/1.16 | 2.31/0.37 | 3.793/1.459 | 0.291/0.011 | 0.182/0.099 | 1.41/0.40 |
| 2000 | 6.57/1.21 | 2.04/0.56 | 3.247/0.271 | 0.306/0.016 | 0.125/0.060 | 1.28/0.37 |
| 2001 | 6.78/1.27 | 2.40/0.60 | 2.330/0.666 | 0.236/0.011 | 0.108/0.031 | 1.06/0.23 |
| 2002 | 6.69/1.33 | 2.06/0.62 | 2.559/0.000 | 0.237/0.000 | 0.116/0.029 | 1.08/0.36 |
| 2003 | 6.68/1.34 | 2.49/0.61 | 0.627/0.313 | 0.309/0.011 | 0.028/0.014 | 0.95/0.26 |
| 2004 | 6.49/1.26 | 2.04/0.71 | 1.324/0.000 | 0.159/0.011 | 0.093/0.013 | 0.91/0.23 |
| 2005 | 7.20/1.38 | 1.70/0.29 | 2.002/0.000 | 0.206/0.015 | 0.076/0.013 | 0.73/0.14 |
| 2006 | 6.35/1.28 | 1.39/0.27 | 0.995/0.332 | 0.171/0.010 | 0.141/0.011 | 0.80/0.29 |
| 2007 | 6.93/1.20 | 1.54/0.35 | 1.028/0.000 | 0.143/0.005 | 0.103/0.034 | 0.72/0.16 |
| 2008 | 6.86/1.21 | 1.81/0.62 | 2.385/0.000 | 0.147/0.010 | 0.075/0.000 9 | 1.27/0.16 |
| 2009 | 7.08/1.32 | 1.63/0.07 | 0.685/0.000 | 0.170/0.011 | 0.070/0.014 | 0.56/0.21 |
| 2010 | 6.63/1.23 | 1.00/0.19 | 1.947/0.000 | 0.163/0.006 | 0.067/0.000 | 0.79/0.25 |
| 2011 | 6.84/1.24 | 1.64/0.52 | 1.330/0.000 | 0.173/0.000 | 0.061/0.000 | 0.73/0.22 |
| 2012 | 6.76/1.25 | 1.24/0.28 | 1.250/0.000 | 0.151/0.000 | 0.141/0.025 | 0.48/0.13 |
| 2013 | 6.30/1.05 | 1.50/0.33 | 2.265/0.971 | 0.107/0.011 | 0.07/0.05 | 0.64/0.18 |
| 2014 11 | 6.11/1.22 | 1.13/0.26 | 1.190/0.00 | 0.160/0.00 | 0.03/0.01 | 0.05/0.06 |
- Compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc., 2013
- All U.S.-registered aircraft not operating under FAR Part 121 or 135
- FAR Part 135 non-scheduled air carriers
- FAR Part 135 scheduled air carriers
- FAR Part 121 scheduled and non-scheduled air carriers
- Aircraft owned or leased and operated by a corporation or business firm for the transportation of personnel or cargo in the furtherance of the corporation’s or firm’s business and which are flown by professional pilots receiving a direct salary or compensation for piloting
- The use of aircraft by pilots (those not receiving direct salary or compensation for piloting) in conjunction with their occupation or in the furtherance of a business
- In 1997, FAR 135 Scheduled carriers were re-certified under FAR 121
- In 2008 Robert E. Breiling Assoc. data for corp/exec data does not agree with NTSB data as several accidents involving U.S. registered aircraft occurred outside the U.S. and are not included in NTSB data
- Items 6 and 7 data is developed by Robert E. Breiling Assoc. Other data is NTSB
- 2014 data are preliminary.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.