Definition
A category used in NTSB accident reporting to identify a flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 (the general operating and flight rules) for a business purpose other than transporting passengers or cargo for hire. Typical examples include a company employee flying to a meeting, a sales call, or a job site, where the flight supports the business but is not itself a paid air transportation service.
Plain English
A flight someone takes for work in their own or their company's aircraft, following the basic civil flight rules. They are flying for business reasons, but they are not being paid to fly people or things from one place to another.
Context Anchor
Seen in accident reports and investigation summaries where the NTSB identifies what rules the flight was operating under and why the flight was being made.
Derivation
Part 91 refers to Part 91 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which contains the general flight rules that apply to most civil flying in the United States. 'General aviation' covers all civil flying that is not scheduled airline service or military, and 'business' narrows it to flights flown for work-related reasons.
Why Pilots Care
Allows safety data to be grouped so patterns specific to business flights under Part 91 can be studied and addressed.
Intuition Check
“Business” here does not mean any flight involving money or any flight flown by a professional pilot. It means the purpose of the flight was connected to work or business and was conducted under Part 91 rules.
Example Sentence 1
The NTSB report classified the flight as Part 91: General Aviation - Business because the pilot was flying his own aircraft to visit a client.
Example Sentence 2
Data from Part 91: General Aviation - Business flights help identify risks unique to non-scheduled work-related trips.