Cessna (Textron Aviation) · Business jet
Cessna Citation Mustang
Is the Cessna Citation Mustang safe? It ranks Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary of 18 private and business aircraft families we rate, with 2 fatal accidents counted in about 980,000 flights since 2008.
Likely range 50 to 77
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 2 in 0.98 million flights
2 fatal accidents per million flights. Counted: all civil flights (private, charter, corporate, cargo, training and other), accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: military, test and illegal flights, sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 2
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
- 0.98 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 115 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: 0.78 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 29.7 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 74%.
- Likely range
- 50 to 77
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
- 6 August 2019
private, 0,4 km N of Los Ángeles-María Dolores Airport (LSQ), Chile: 1 of 1 people on board died.
- 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 Cessna Citation Mustang 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
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A day of skiing1 in 830,000
- One flight on the Cessna Citation MustangThis aircraft1 in 580,000
- 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
2 fatal accidents since 2008 count toward the score, with 4 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| private510 Citation Mustang · 0,4 km N of Los Ángeles-María Dolores Airport (LSQ), Chile | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a private flight from Concepción, the Citation Mustang descended on what looked like a normal final to runway 18 at Los Ángeles, Chile, until its right wing hit trees. It crashed and burned 412 m short; the pilot, alone, died. The investigation has not published a cause.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Skytaxi Luftfahrt510 Citation Mustang · Sieberatsreute, Waldburg, Germany | 3 killed / 3 on board | Turning onto the ILS for Friedrichshafen at night in cloud at about 240 knots, the Citation Mustang began a rapid descent and hit a forest near Waldburg; all three died. The BFU found a sudden loss of control, with icing and turbulence likely factors, but could not determine why.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record |
Two Citation Mustangs have crashed with loss of life up to 3 November 2026: an air taxi flight in Germany in 2017 and a private flight in Chile in 2019. Both count against the type. The fleet has flown only about 980,000 times since 2008, the period the score covers, so two events say little on their own, and the likely score range is wide. Treat it as a low-confidence result.
What is a Citation Mustang?
Cessna launched the Mustang as the smallest and cheapest Citation. It first flew in 2005 and entered service in 2006. About 470 were built, about 410 were seen flying in 2022, and production has ended. It seats up to four passengers behind one or two pilots, and it uses two small Pratt & Whitney Canada turbofans and a glass cockpit. The ICAO code is C510.
Who flies it, one pilot or two?
The Mustang is certified for one pilot, and owner-pilots use that. Others are flown by a small air taxi or charter firm, usually with a paid pilot or two. Neither pattern is wrong. A single pilot handles radio, weather, the autopilot and the approach alone, while a second pilot adds a cross-check. In the United States, a private flight (Part 91) follows lighter rules than a charter flight (Part 135), which has operator oversight and pilot checks.
What does the record show?
Our data lists 2 fatal events and counts both. One was a private flight and one was a flight by an air taxi company, and both are coded "other" rather than passenger charter. None was excluded.
- 14 December 2017, Skytaxi Luftfahrt, near Waldburg, Germany (3 dead). Two crew and one passenger were flying from Egelsbach to Friedrichshafen at night. In cloud, on the turn onto the approach, the jet descended fast and hit a forest. The German investigator (BFU) found a sudden loss of control. It said icing and turbulence were likely factors but could not determine why control was lost.
- 6 August 2019, private, near Los Ángeles, Chile (1 dead). The lone pilot was on what looked like a normal final approach in the evening when the right wing hit trees about 400 metres short of the runway. The investigation has not published a cause.
Both crashes happened on approach, but they have no shared cause on record, and two events cannot show a pattern in the aircraft.
How much does the record tell us?
We estimate about 980,000 flights since 2008, with an error of about 30%. That is low confidence on our scale. The family's own record carries most of the weight in the score, so a single further event would move it a lot. The Mustang shares its place with the CitationJet and the Gulfstream IV, just ahead of the Learjet 60; the scores are close and the likely ranges overlap widely, so the gap is small and uncertain. See the methodology for how counting and weighting work.
How do I check a charter operator?
- Ask for the air operator certificate (Part 135 in the United States) and verify it with the aviation authority.
- Ask how many pilots will fly your trip, and whether the operator requires two for passengers.
- Ask for an independent safety audit, such as an ARGUS or Wyvern rating.
- Ask about the pilots' hours on the Mustang and their last recurrent training.
- If you fly with an owner, ask about instrument rating, recent flying and what the plan is for ice and low cloud.
The nearest sister aircraft in size and use are the CitationJet family and the Embraer Phenom 100.
Questions people ask
Is the Cessna Citation Mustang safe?
Our data lists 2 fatal events in about 980,000 estimated flights from 2008, the period the score covers, to 3 November 2026, and both count. That is too few to judge the model with confidence: its own record carries most of the weight in the score, and one more event would move it a lot. Pilot training, weather and the operator matter more than the model.
Can one pilot fly a Citation Mustang?
Yes. The Mustang is certified for one pilot, and many owners fly it alone. Air taxi and charter operators often put two pilots on board anyway. Ask the operator how many pilots will fly your trip.
Has a Citation Mustang crashed on a charter flight?
No counted fatal event is coded as a passenger charter flight. One, on 14 December 2017, was an air taxi company's flight with two crew and one passenger, near Waldburg, Germany. The German investigation could not find why control was lost.
How do I know if my flight is a Citation Mustang?
Look for the ICAO type code C510 on the flight plan or in a flight tracker. The aircraft is also called the Cessna 510 or the Citation Mustang. A charter operator can tell you the type when you book.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: private Cessna 510 Citation Mustang, near Los Ángeles, Chile, 6 August 2019 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: Skytaxi Luftfahrt Cessna 510 Citation Mustang, Waldburg, Germany, 14 December 2017 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.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 115 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 27 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.