During 2000–2009, business jets had the highest reportable accident rate and fatal accident rate among all large airplanes used in public transport in the United Kingdom.1 However, the trend has turned around in recent years, with the reportable accident rate for business jets lower than those for otherwise-classified jets and turboprops in the three-year subset ending in 2009. The data are reported by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in a comprehensive study of the 10-year period.2
A total of 113 reportable accidents occurred, the report says. In descending order of percentage of accidents, they were categorized as “ramp incident” — about 35 percent — and “abnormal runway contact/runway excursion” — slightly less than 25 percent, followed by “aircraft technical malfunction/failure,” “loss of control,” “ground conflict including runway incursion,” “oth…
