Air taxis have been getting less safe while the rest of US general aviation has got safer, according to National Transportation Safety Board figures for 2000. Air taxis suffered 80 accidents in 2000 compared with 73 in 1999, and fatalities "almost doubled" to 71. The accident rate increased slightly from 3.23 per 100,000h in 1999 to 3.29 last year. But general aviation accidents as a whole fell from 1,913 to 1,835, and fatalities fell from 630 to 592.

Source: Flight International