Bombardier · Business jet
Bombardier Global (Express to 8000)
Is the Bombardier Global (Express to 8000) safe? It is not ranked yet: with no fatal accidents counted in about 1.6 million flights since 2008, its record is too short to place it among the others: its score could be anywhere from 50 to 100.
Likely range 50 to 100
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 0 in 1.6 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
- 1.6 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 132 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 27 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.
- Technology generation
- Modern business jet (type first flew from 1990)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 0.87 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 29.1 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 82%.
- Likely range
- 50 to 100
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
- 5
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 Bombardier Global (Express to 8000) carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- One flight on the Bombardier Global (Express to 8000)This aircraft1 in 6.5 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Air Force (USAF)E-11A (Global Express) · 39 km NNW of Sharana FOB, Afghanistan | 2 killed / 2 on board | Military operation. On a US Air Force communications relay sortie over Afghanistan, a fan blade broke and the left engine failed. The crew shut down the working right engine by mistake and did not restart it; the E-11A crash-landed in rough ground and both pilots died.Type: Engine failureASN record |
No civil Bombardier Global has been in a fatal accident in our data up to 3 November 2026. That is a good sign, and it is also less than it looks. The score counts flights from 2008 on, and about 1.6 million flights is not many: the Global is not ranked yet, and its likely score range is wide.
What is the Bombardier Global?
The Global is Bombardier's large, long-range business jet. The Global Express first flew in 1996 and entered service in 1999. The family now includes the Express XRS, the 5000 and 6000 (updated as the 5500 and 6500), the 7500 and the 8000. About 1,300 have been built and about 1,200 are in service. Typical seating is 14. Crews are two pilots, and flights often run between continents, so crew duty hours and fatigue management matter.
Operators range from charter and fractional-ownership companies to corporate flight departments, governments and owners with their own crews. We cannot say from our data which use is most common.
What does a zero record mean?
The data list one fatal event. On 27 January 2020 a US Air Force E-11A, a Global Express converted for communications relay, crashed in Afghanistan after a fan blade broke off in its left engine, and both pilots died. It was a military flight, so it does not count. Zero counted events in about 1.6 million flights since 2008, with the flight estimate uncertain by about 30%, fits two stories:
- The Global is very safe, with a true rate far below the class average.
- It carries the class average, and the sample is too short to show it. At the average rate for modern business jets in our method, zero events in this many flights would not be unusual.
We cannot tell the two apart yet. That is why the Global has no rank and why its likely range runs so wide. The same yardstick gives the Challenger 300 two counted events in about 2.7 million flights since 2008, and the older Challenger 600 series seven in about 2.2 million.
Non-fatal events
ASN also lists accidents without deaths. Two examples show what the risks look like:
- 17 January 2015, Challenger Aero Corporation, Tacloban, Philippines: a Global 5000 veered left on the take-off roll in an 18-knot crosswind, left the runway and was Hull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary. All 16 on board were unhurt.
- 21 April 2011, Global Flight Inc, Teterboro, New Jersey: a Global XRS hit a wing on the runway in gusty wind on landing. The NTSB gave the cause as the pilot's loss of control. None of the four on board died.
Both were runway events in strong wind. Neither was fatal.
How to check a charter on a Global
- Ask for the air operator certificate and the country that issued it.
- Ask for an independent audit such as ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO, and the rating.
- Ask for the pilots' hours on the Global and their last simulator check.
- Ask whether the crew can rest enough on long sectors.
On a flight tracker, look for GLEX (Global Express), GL5T (5000, 5500), GL6T (6000, 6500) or GL7T (7500).
Questions people ask
Has a Bombardier Global ever had a fatal crash?
Only one military case. On 27 January 2020 a US Air Force E-11A, a Global Express rebuilt for communications relay, crashed in Afghanistan and both pilots died. We leave military flights out of the score. Up to 3 November 2026 no civil Global has had a fatal accident in our data.
Does no fatal crash mean the Global is the safest business jet?
No. About 1.6 million flights since 2008 is not enough to show it, so the Global is not ranked yet and its likely score range is wide. A jet with the average record of modern business jets could also go that far without a death. It is a good sign, but not proof.
What is the difference between a Global 6000 and a Global 7500?
The 7500 is the newer, larger aircraft with a longer range. Bombardier built the Global Express, 5000 and 6000 earlier and updated them as the 5500 and 6500. All are counted as one family.
Is a Global charter flight safe?
The aircraft has a clean civil record, but the operator matters more. Ask for the air operator certificate, the audit rating and the pilots' experience on the type.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Challenger Aero Corporation Global 5000, Tacloban, Philippines, 17 January 2015 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: Global Flight Inc Global XRS, Teterboro, New Jersey, 21 April 2011 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: US Air Force E-11A (Global Express), near Sharana, Afghanistan, 27 January 2020 (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 132 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 27 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.