Private Jet Crash Statistics: Accident Rates for Business Jets vs Airlines and Small Planes

Business jets are much safer than the “private plane crash” headline suggests, and much less safe than an airline seat. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) counted 0.16 accidents per 100,000 flight hours for scheduled airlines in 2024, 0.86 for on-demand charter and 4.53 for general aviation as a whole. The number you should use depends on which group of aircraft you mean.

How Often Do Private Jets Crash?

AIN and its sister publication Business Jet Traveler tally fatal business jet accidents worldwide each year from preliminary data. The count rose from 4 in 2022 to 9 in 2023, fell to 8 in 2024 and reached 13 in 2025, the worst year for business aviation since 2011 by AIN’s measure of total fatalities.

Three limits on those numbers. First, they count fatal accidents only. Non-fatal accidents are more numerous and are not in the tables. Second, they count business jets by registration, not by hours flown, so they are not a rate. Third, AIN notes the data is preliminary and counts differ between sources and definitions. Business Jet Traveler counted four non-US fatal business jet accidents for 2022, for example.

The type of flying matters too. AIN’s January 2025 report says that of the 8 fatal business jet accidents in 2024, 2 were on charter flights and 6 were private flights. For 2023, Business Jet Traveler said the six US-registered fatal accidents were five Part 91 flights (15 deaths) and one charter accident (8 deaths).

The NTSB’s own tables do not isolate turbofan business jets, so no public primary source gives a per-hour accident rate for them. A single-year count of 8 to 13 across a worldwide fleet is the honest picture.

Accident Rates Per 100,000 Flight Hours

The NTSB publishes accident rates for US operations grouped by the rules they fly under. This is the cleanest public comparison between airlines, charter and the rest of private flying.

Flight hours for Part 135 on-demand and general aviation are estimated by the FAA from its annual activity survey, which the NTSB notes is conducted in the year after the target year. Rates for small groups jump around, so one year says less than a trend. Here are the last five years for the three groups most readers ask about:

The NTSB defines general aviation as all US civil flying except Part 121 airline operations and Part 135 commuter and on-demand operations, mainly noncommercial Part 91 flying. A business jet flown by two professional pilots under Part 91 is in that group, and so is a student pilot in a 1970s Cessna 150. That is why the general aviation rate is not a private jet rate.

Why Private Planes Crash

The NTSB database tags each accident with a phase of flight and a defining event. To see the pattern, we tabulated airplane accidents in the United States for 2020 to 2024 from NTSB Table 29, grouped by the rules the flight operated under. This is our own count of NTSB data, and it covers all airplanes, piston and turbine, not only jets.

Phase of Flight: Approach and Landing

In both Part 91 and Part 135, landing is the phase with the most accidents: 1,658 of 4,656 Part 91 accidents and 54 of 149 Part 135 accidents, about 36 percent in each group. Approach, takeoff and initial climb add most of the rest. Airline accidents are different in kind: many involve turbulence en route, 57 of 116, which seldom kills. Most Part 91 and Part 135 landing accidents are non-fatal, but they are where aircraft are damaged.

Loss of Control and Runway Excursions

Loss of control in flight is the biggest killer in general aviation. In the same Table 29 data it is the defining event in 310 of the 778 fatal Part 91 airplane accidents, about 40 percent. For Part 135, the most common defining events across all accidents were abnormal runway contact (19), loss of control in flight (18), loss of control on the ground (17) and runway excursion (15). Among the 22 fatal Part 135 accidents, loss of control in flight accounted for 5, controlled flight into terrain for 4 and midair collisions for 3, and 5 had an unknown event. Our guide to how much runway a private jet needs covers why short or contaminated runways are a recurring factor.

Part 91 vs Part 135 Rules

Part 135 is the rulebook for on-demand charter, and it asks more of operators than Part 91. The practical difference for you: a Part 135 operator holds an FAA certificate and flies under approved training and operating procedures, while a Part 91 owner-pilot flies under the general rules. The rate gap in the NTSB tables reflects that, with 0.86 for Part 135 on-demand against 4.53 for general aviation in 2024. Cranky Flier reports Part 135 requires 250 hours for a right-seat pilot, against 1,500 for Part 121. Airlines still lead by a wide margin.

Part 135 also writes crew limits into the regulations. Under 14 CFR 135.267, a one-pilot crew may fly no more than 8 hours in any 24 consecutive hours and a two-pilot crew 10 hours, with flight time capped at 500 hours in a calendar quarter and 1,400 in a year, and each crewmember must get at least 13 rest periods of 24 or more consecutive hours in each calendar quarter. Part 135 pilots in command of turbojet airplanes must hold an airline transport pilot certificate under 14 CFR 135.243. NATA reports that a newer rule extends safety management systems, the Part 5 requirement once limited to airlines, to all Part 135 commuter and on-demand operators: the rule took effect on May 28, 2024, and each operator must file a Declaration of Compliance with the FAA by May 28, 2027.

Single-Pilot vs Two-Pilot Operations

Many light jets and turboprops can be flown by one pilot, and the NTSB Table 29 data does not separate single-pilot from two-pilot accidents. A second pilot adds a check on every approach. When you charter, ask whether the flight will be crewed by two pilots. A broker can tell you the operator’s crewing standard for the aircraft you are quoted.

Private Jets vs Commercial Airlines

Per hour of flying, scheduled airlines have the lowest accident rate of any operation in the NTSB tables: 0.16 per 100,000 hours in 2024, with no fatal accidents that year and 1 in the 116 airplane accidents tabulated for 2020 to 2024. Part 135 on-demand charter, where most private jet passengers fly, is about five times that rate at 0.86. General aviation is about 29 times the airline rate.

Two cautions. Rates per hour reward long flights: an airliner spends most of its hours at cruise, where accidents are rare, while a short business jet hop spends a higher share of its time in takeoff and landing. And the NTSB figures count accidents, including non-fatal ones; they are not death rates. For fatal accidents specifically, scheduled airlines had zero in 2024, Part 135 on-demand had 0.14 per 100,000 hours and general aviation 0.72.

Private Planes vs Cars

Private planes and cars cannot be compared from public data without misleading you. NHTSA reports a road fatality rate of 1.26 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2023, with 40,901 deaths. The NTSB reports accidents, not deaths, per 100,000 flight hours. Converting between miles and hours needs an assumed speed and an assumed accident severity, and a trip by car and a trip by jet are rarely the same distance or the same risk exposure.

If you want one number, compare fatal accident rates for like groups. Part 135 on-demand had 0.14 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours in 2024. That figure counts accidents, not people killed, and a car crash and a jet crash do not carry the same number of occupants. We do not publish a “times safer” ratio because no primary source gives a like-for-like one.

How to Lower Your Risk When You Fly Private

You cannot change the base rates, but you can pick the operator. A short checklist for any charter:

• Book a Part 135 operator and ask for its certificate and the aircraft’s tail number. Our guide to chartering a private jet shows how to check it in the FAA’s Part 135 list.
• Prefer operators with a published third-party safety audit such as ARGUS or Wyvern, and ask the broker which one the operator holds. Best private jet charter companies explains what the audits mean.
• Ask for two pilots on any jet flight.
• Be cautious of a quote far below the market. The page on cheap private jet flights explains the trade-offs.
• Check the aircraft type and its safety equipment: the safest private jets in the world explains what records and safety ratings can and cannot tell you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many private jets crash a year?

Between 4 and 13 business jets were involved in fatal accidents worldwide each year from 2022 to 2025. The counts were 4 in 2022, 9 in 2023, 8 in 2024 and 13 in 2025, on preliminary data from AIN and Business Jet Traveler. Non-fatal accidents are not counted in those figures, and the totals cover business jets of all registrations, not only US aircraft.

Do private jets crash more than commercial planes?

Private flying has a higher accident rate than airline flying, but the gap depends on the type. NTSB data for 2024 shows 0.16 accidents per 100,000 hours for scheduled airlines, 0.86 for on-demand charter and 4.53 for general aviation overall. Business jets are not broken out in those tables.

Why do private jets crash more?

Private jets crash more often per hour than airliners partly because of how they operate. NTSB data for 2020 to 2024 shows most Part 91 and Part 135 airplane accidents happen in landing, approach and takeoff, and loss of control is the leading cause of fatal Part 91 accidents. Crew rules and operating tempo differ from airlines.

Are private planes safer than cars?

Private planes and cars cannot be compared with the data publicly available. NHTSA reports 1.26 road deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2023, while NTSB reports accidents, not deaths, per 100,000 flight hours. Different units and different risk per trip make a clean comparison misleading.

Is it safer to charter under Part 135?

Chartering under Part 135 has a lower accident rate than general aviation overall. NTSB data for 2024 shows 0.86 accidents per 100,000 hours for Part 135 on-demand operations against 4.53 for general aviation. Part 135 still has about five times the rate of scheduled airlines, so operator vetting matters.