Beechcraft (Raytheon, Hawker Beechcraft) · Business jet
Beechjet 400/Hawker 400XP (MU-300 Diamond)
Is the Beechjet 400/Hawker 400XP (MU-300 Diamond) safe? It is not ranked yet: with no fatal accidents counted in about 2.3 million flights since 2008, its record is too short to place it among the others: its score could be anywhere from 60 to 96.
Likely range 60 to 96
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 0 in 2.3 million flights
No fatal accident in the data (ASN database to 3 November 2026).
- Full-loss equivalents
- 0
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 2.3 million
Estimated flights of all kinds. Flights of all kinds (private, charter, corporate, cargo, training and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026: OpenSky 2022 flights of the type under any call sign (US military aircraft left out), re-weighted to World Bank departures country by country, carried to other years by the type's flights counted each year by FAA traffic flow management (TFMSC). Flights before 2008 are not used, like the accidents. About 190 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 32 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.
- Technology generation
- Classic business jet (type first flew before 1990)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 2.8 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 11.5 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 87%.
- Likely range
- 60 to 96
The score is 90% likely to lie in this range, given how few accidents a type has and the error in the estimate of its flights.
- Last fatal accident
- None
No counted fatal accident.
- Hull losses
- 28
Civil aircraft destroyed or written off from all causes, including non-fatal accidents, cargo flights and attacks; airframes flown by air forces on military operations are left out. ASN gives no fate for some damaged aircraft, so this can be a little low (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Beechjet 400/Hawker 400XP (MU-300 Diamond) carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- One flight on the Beechjet 400/Hawker 400XP (MU-300 Diamond)This aircraft1 in 2.7 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A day of skiing1 in 830,000
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
No fatal accident counts toward this score.
Listed but not counted
These events happened before 2008 (the score covers 2008 onward, the period its flight count covers), on military, test or illegal flights, or were caused by a crime or a deliberate act, which says little about the aircraft design.
| Date | Flight | Killed | Why not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitham Farm Feedyard IncMitsubishi Mu-300 Diamond IA · ca 13 km SE of Goodland-Renner Field, KS (GLD), United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Before 2008, outside the period the score covers. On an ILS approach to Goodland, Kansas, the pilot could not stabilise the MU-300: it overspeeded and flew through the localizer, then slowed until the stick shaker fired. It stalled and hit the ground; the two crew and one passenger died. The NTSB found an unintended stall.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Bruno's Inc.Beechjet 400A · 12 km WSW of Rome-Richard B Russell Airport, GA (RMG), United States of America | 9 killed / 9 on board | Before 2008, outside the period the score covers. Leaving Rome, Georgia, under visual rules for Huntsville, the captain asked for an IFR clearance, then turned back from low cloud over high ground. Four minutes after takeoff the Beechjet hit Lavender Mountain; all nine died. The NTSB cited flying visually into mountains.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Yomiuri ShimbunMitsubishi Mu-300 Diamond IA · Mount Kinpoku, Japan | 4 killed / 4 on board | Before 2008, outside the period the score covers. The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper's MU-300 was on a training flight from Tokyo Haneda to Niigata, flying under visual rules toward the Niigata VOR to set up an ILS approach. It hit the side of a mountain hidden in cloud, and all four on board died.Type: Flight into terrainASN record |
The Beechjet 400 family has no fatal accident since 2008, the period our score covers: none in about 2.3 million flights up to 3 November 2026. Its three fatal events, the last in December 1993, all come from the first years of service and do not count. With no counted accident and under 3 million flights, the type is not ranked yet, and its likely score range is wide. A flight today is on an old airframe, so the quality of the operator matters more than the model name.
What is the Beechjet 400, and who flies it?
The jet began as the Mitsubishi MU-300 Diamond, which first flew in 1978. Beech took over the programme in the 1980s and sold it as the Beechjet 400 and 400A. The Hawker 400XP of 2003 is the last factory version. About 900 were built, about 510 were seen flying in 2022, and none is in production. It seats about seven.
It flies as an owner's jet, on charter and in small corporate fleets. It is certified for two pilots. The military T-1A Jayhawk trainer is built on the same design; military events are not counted.
What do the three older fatal events show?
All three happened before 2008, so none counts under our method, which scores accidents and flights from 2008 on. They stay part of the type's history. All were in the United States or Japan. By purpose, two were private or corporate flights and one was a training flight.
- 15 December 1993, Whitham Farm Feedyard Inc, near Goodland, Kansas: 3 of 3 died. The jet overspeeded on an ILS approach, flew through the localizer, then slowed until the stick shaker fired. The NTSB found an unintended stall.
- 11 December 1991, Bruno's Inc., near Rome, Georgia: 9 of 9 died. The captain turned back from low cloud over high ground and the jet hit Lavender Mountain four minutes after take-off. The NTSB cited flying visually into mountains.
- 23 July 1986, Yomiuri Shimbun, Mount Kinpoku, Japan: 4 of 4 died on a training flight. The MU-300 flew under visual rules toward Niigata and hit a mountain hidden in cloud.
Two of the three were controlled flights into terrain, which points to weather and navigation, not to a fault in the jet. We list no cargo, ferry or charter event in the data.
How does it compare with similar jets?
Since 2008 the family has no counted fatal event, while the Hawker 800 has six and the Citation V four. The Beechjet scores above both, but on about 2.3 million flights its likely range is wide and overlaps theirs, so the data cannot rank it against them yet. The same holds for the Falcon 900, another classic business jet (first flown before 1990) with no counted fatal event since 2008. The Beechjet itself is a swept-wing twin with two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D turbofans mounted on the rear fuselage.
How do I check a Beechjet or Hawker 400XP charter?
- Ask which company holds the air operator certificate for your flight. In the US that is a Part 135 certificate; check the name with the FAA. Elsewhere, use the national aviation authority.
- Ask for a recent audit by ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO.
- Confirm two pilots, both trained on the type.
- Ask how old the aircraft is and who maintains it.
On a flight tracker, the ICAO code is BE40 for every version.
Questions people ask
Is the Beechjet 400 a safe aircraft?
Since 2008, the period our score covers, our data lists no fatal event in about 2.3 million flights up to 3 November 2026. The three fatal events in the type's history, the last in December 1993, are older and do not count. A gap of more than 30 years is a good sign, but with no counted accident and so few flights the type is not ranked yet, and the fleet is old.
What is the difference between the Beechjet 400A and the Hawker 400XP?
The Hawker 400XP is the last factory version of the same jet, launched by Raytheon in 2003. XP stands for extra payload: it has higher weight limits than the 400A. All versions carry the ICAO code BE40.
Does the Beechjet 400 need two pilots?
Yes. The Beechjet 400A and the Hawker 400XP are certified for a crew of two pilots. If a charter offer lists a single pilot, ask the operator which approval allows it.
Was the Beechjet 400 once the Mitsubishi MU-300?
Yes. Mitsubishi in Japan designed and first flew the MU-300 Diamond in 1978. Beech bought the programme in 1985 and later sold it as the Beechjet 400.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Whitham Farm Feedyard Mitsubishi MU-300, near Goodland, Kansas, 15 December 1993 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: Bruno's Inc. Beechjet 400A, near Rome, Georgia, 11 December 1991 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Yomiuri Shimbun Mitsubishi MU-300, Mount Kinpoku, Japan, 23 July 1986 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2022 (all operators), World Bank departures, FAA TFMSC (opens in a new tab)Flights of all kinds (private, charter, corporate, cargo, training and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026: OpenSky 2022 flights of the type under any call sign (US military aircraft left out), re-weighted to World Bank departures country by country, carried to other years by the type's flights counted each year by FAA traffic flow management (TFMSC). Flights before 2008 are not used, like the accidents. About 190 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 32 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.