Business aircraft flying activity in the U.S. flattened last month, with traffic falling 1.6 percent versus the year-ago period, according to TraqPak data released yesterday by aviation services company Argus.

Part 91 flying eked out a slight increase, climbing 0.6 percent year over year. Flying activity at charter and fractional providers dropped 3.6 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, from March 2011. This marks the 14th consecutive month of retrenched activity at Part 135 charter companies, though it should be noted that charter turboprop flying did rise 2.3 percent.

Aircraft category results were down nearly across the board, with turboprops marking the only gain–and a scant 0.1 percent at that. Large-cabin activity was hit the hardest, falling 4.9 percent from a year ago. Light jet flying decreased 0.5 percent, while midsize jet activity slid 3 percent.

By individual market segment, Part 91 midsize jets saw the biggest gain–up 4 percent–followed closely by Part 91 light jets at 3.4 percent. Part 135 and fractional midsize jet flying took the hardest blows, with activity down 8.7 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. Argus TraqPak data “is serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S.”