Dassault Falcon 900

One Falcon 900 accident has killed people in our data. On 14 September 1999 a Falcon 900B owned by the Greek Air Force and flown by Olympic Airways was carrying a Greek government delegation to Bucharest when it went through violent pitch oscillations. It landed, but 7 of the 13 people on board died. Up to 3 November 2026 there is nothing else fatal. The score counts only accidents and flights from 2008 on, so the 1999 accident does not count: the score rests on about 1 million flights since 2008 with no fatal event.

What happened over Romania in 1999?

The flight was a civil government transport, not a military mission, so it is listed in our "other" group, but it does not count because it came before 2008. A PITCH FEEL warning came on in the climb and stayed on. In a fast descent the autopilot disconnected, and the captain's inputs at high speed, with the pitch feel unit stuck in its low-speed mode, led to pilot-induced oscillations of up to +4.7 g and -3.26 g. The Romanian investigators listed four causal factors: a poor risk assessment of the pitch feel fault, the crew overriding the autopilot in pitch, the control inputs at high speed, and passengers' seat belts not fastened during the descent. The cabin was wrecked.

Less than a month later, on 9 October 1999, an Amway Falcon 900B had pitch oscillations of +3.3 g to -1.2 g in the United States when the co-pilot pulled on the controls with the autopilot still engaged. A flight attendant without a seat belt was seriously hurt. On 18 October 1999 Falcon Aviation issued a newsflash telling operators not to force the controls with the autopilot engaged.

What is the Falcon 900?

It is a long-range, three-engine business jet from Dassault Aviation, first flown in 1984. About 560 were built and about 510 were seen flying in 2022. They serve corporate flight departments, charter operators, governments and private owners. The family runs from the original 900 through the 900B, 900C and 900EX to the 900LX and 900DX. The third engine sits in the tail, fed through an S-shaped duct, and two pilots are the required crew. Look for the ICAO code F900 on a flight tracker.

What else is in the record?

The non-fatal records are mostly about the runway:

• Hyannis, 17 March 2000: a BP Amoco jet landed long on an icy runway with a tailwind and ran through a fence and onto a road. The NTSB gave crew coordination, the weather evaluation and the decision to continue the approach as causes. All four on board lived.
• Rifle, Colorado, 23 March 2007: an XOJet 900C on a positioning flight landed fast and overran the runwayRunway excursionWhen an aircraft leaves the runway surface during take-off or landing, either off the end (an overrun) or off the side (a veer-off).More in the glossary. The NTSB named the excess airspeed and the touchdown point. All three on board lived.
• San Diego, 13 February 2021: a 900EX would not rotate and overran the runway end. The NTSB found the weight and balance outside limits and the trim set wrongly, with a captain whose pilot certificates had been revoked two years before as a contributing factor. All five lived.

What does a clean record since 2008 tell you?

Less than it seems. Our flight count is an estimate, good to about 30%, and confidence in the score is low. The score rests mostly on the 900's own record since 2008, with a smaller share from the classic business jets as a class, whose average includes older Learjets and Hawkers with many more losses. That share works against the 900, because its own rate is lower than the class average. With under 3 million flights and no counted fatal event, the type is not ranked yet. The method counts every civil flight since 2008, whatever its purpose.

Before you charter a Falcon 900

1. Ask for the air operator certificate and check it with the national authority.
2. Ask whether both pilots are type-rated and when they last trained in a simulator.
3. Look for an ARGUS or Wyvern audit and ask to see it.
4. Ask who sets the take-off weight and trim, since the San Diego report turned on both.

On a private flight there is no audit, so ask the owner or the management company about the crew. For comparison, see Dassault's twin-engine Falcon 2000 and the large-cabin Gulfstream IV and Gulfstream V.