Preliminary US airline accident figures for 1999 indicate a slight increase in the total accident rate. The statistics, from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reveal the accident numbers and rate for US Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121 (large aircraft) scheduled operators were up slightly on 1998, with 48 accidents, compared with the previous year's 43.
The only US Part 121 fatal accident last year was an American Airlines Boeing MD-80, which crashed on 1 June at Little Rock, Arkansas, killing 11 people. The fatal accident rate is 0.18 per million flights, compared to the world average of about 1.2 fatal accidents per million flights.
Scheduled Part 135 carriers (commuter carriers operating aircraft with fewer than 19 seats) suffered six fatal accidents.
Source: Flight International
