Washington ? No one died during 2007 in accidents among larger scheduled U.S. airlines and smaller commuter aircraft, and deaths in private plane accidents dropped to 491, their lowest total in more than 40 years, the government reported Wednesday.

But on-demand aircraft – charters, air taxis and tours, and medical flights with a patient aboard – saw accident deaths jump from 16 in 2006 to 43 in 2007, according to preliminary annual figures from the National Transportation Safety Board.

As hundreds of thousands of air travelers learned last week the number of fatal accidents is not the only measure of air safety. Last week, American Airlines alone canceled nearly 3,100 flights affecting 250,000 passengers as the Federal Aviation Administration forced it to inspect wiring in its Boeing MD-80 jets. Alaska Airlines, Midwest Airlines and Delta also canceled flights for similar inspections.

The FAA was finally insisting on compliance with a Sept. 5, 2006, order that it had given airlines 18 months to obey. The tougher FAA stance followed the revelation last month that the agency’s lax enforcement of its own safety rules had allowed Southwest Airlines to fly dozens of its Boeing 737s without inspecting them as required for cracks in the fuselage.