Nearly Twice As Many As 2004

Nationwide, the number of aviation accidents continues to decline -- but not in New Jersey, where officials reported 44 accidents in 2005. That figure is about twice the number of accidents for the state in 2004.

Eight of those accidents were fatal, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, claiming a total of 13 lives.

As was reported in Aero-News, one of the more high-profile accidents involved a Challenger CL-600 bizjet that overran the departure end of a runway at Teterboro during an aborted takeoff attempt. No one was killed in the accident, but four people were injured.

Another accident near the beleaguered airport, this one involving a Cessna Cardinal, was fatal. The pilot died when the single-engine aircraft went down about 1/4 east of the airport while attempting an emergency landing.

While FAA and NTSB officials have no ready answer for why 2005 saw such a spike in the number of accidents in New Jersey, they maintain that the figure does not mean its not safe to fly over the Garden State.

"The New York-New Jersey metro area is a very busy airspace, but it's a very safe airspace," said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Murray.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov