This safety press release by the NBAA arguably shows their true colors. The NBAA acronym is for National Business Aviation Association and not the National CHARTER Aviation Association. When evaluating who our friends are in explaining air charter accidents, it is easy to see, they are quick to point out that business aviation is safe, while Part 135 is lumped off as its dangerous and low class cousin.

This press release seems like an attempt on their behalf to distance themselves from 135 data. But speaking directly with Robert Breiling helped us see what many of us already know - not all Part 135 organizations are created equal. In fact, if you talk in terms of "turbine only" and remove freight haulers and emergency medical services, you would hard pressed to find an accident rate as high as it shows.

In other words, Part 135, turbine, passenger carrying operators that operate to a standard of "best practices" of some kind (any kind!) usually exhibit the culture of safety that our rich friends at NBAA keep trumpeting about as they "haul the old man around" in their under-utilized G-IV.