General aviation accidents in the U.S. continued their downward trend in 2015, according to the latest aviation accident statistics released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). And, just as in 2014, there were no fatalities for U.S. airlines.

General aviation comprises mostly smaller, private-use aircraft. While general aviation flight hours were up in 2015, the total number of accidents were down, from 1,223 in 2014 to 1,209, as was the rate of accidents per 100,000 flight hours.

“Even though the fatality rate in 2015 was the lowest it has been in many years, 376 people still lost their lives,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart, “which is why improving general aviation safety is on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements. While lower, these numbers are still too high’’ said Hart.

The accident rate for non-scheduled air carrier flights, or on-demand Part 135 operations (charter, air taxi, air tour, and air medical operations), was up, but only slightly.

The 2015 statistical tables showing accidents, fatalities, and accident rates for major segments of U.S. civil aviation can be found here: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/data/Documents/2015_preliminary_aviation_statistics.xls