Gulfstream Aerospace (Galaxy Aerospace, IAI) · Business jet
Gulfstream G200/G280
Is the Gulfstream G200/G280 safe? It is not ranked yet: with 1 fatal accident counted in about 910,000 flights since 2008, its record is too short to place it among the others: its score could be anywhere from 52 to 88.
Likely range 52 to 88
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 1 in 0.91 million flights
1.1 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
- 1
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
- 0.91 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 135 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 30 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: 0.82 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 29.8 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 72%.
- Likely range
- 52 to 88
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
- 7 June 2026
Aibonito Aviation LLC, La Romana International Airport (LRM/MDLR), La Romana, Dominican Republic: 2 of 2 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 9
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 Gulfstream G200/G280 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
- One flight on the Gulfstream G200/G280This aircraft1 in 980,000
- 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
1 fatal accident since 2008 counts toward the score, with 2 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aibonito Aviation LLCGulfstream G200 · La Romana International Airport (LRM/MDLR), La Romana, Dominican Republic | 2 killed / 2 on board | Soon after leaving La Romana, the G200 crew reported a right engine failure and came back. After a go-around and 20 minutes of holding, struggling for control, they landed with a tailwind; it veered off, the gear collapsed and it burned. Both died. No cause has been published.Type: Runway excursionASN record |
Up to 3 November 2026, one fatal event is listed for the G200 and G280 family: an older G200 on a positioning flight, with only its two pilots on board, at La Romana in the Dominican Republic in June 2026. No G280 appears in the fatal record. A single event in about 0.9 million flights since 2008 gives little to judge by. Confidence is low, and with so few flights and one counted event the family is not ranked yet.
What are the G200 and G280?
Israel Aircraft Industries designed the Galaxy, which first flew in 1997. Gulfstream bought the programme and sold it as the G200. The G280 followed as a deep redesign, with a new wing, a T-tail, new engines and a longer range, on the same basic fuselage. About 560 have been built and about 520 are in service, and the G280 is still in production. Both seat about nine, fly with corporate flight departments and charter operators, and are certified for two pilots.
What does a family with one fatal event tell you?
Not as much as it seems. A family with about one million flights can show few or no deaths even if its true risk is the same as its peers. A short record cannot separate a safe airframe from a lucky one, and it cannot show that a type is dangerous either. That is why the score blends the family's own record with the record of its class.
The non-fatal ASN records still add something. Two of them are landing excursions with official findings:
- 25 January 2018, Nestoil, Abuja, Nigeria: the G200 oscillated after landing and left the runway. Nigeria's investigators named improper directional control technique, with crew coordination as a contributory factor. All seven on board survived.
- 22 May 2018, Silver Air, Tegucigalpa, Honduras: the jet touched down fast and late on a short runway, ran off the end and was destroyed. The Honduran investigators named the approach speed, the crew's lack of runway-length information and late braking. All six on board survived.
The fatal event
7 June 2026, Aibonito Aviation LLC, La Romana, Dominican Republic: 2 of 2 died. The jet was leaving for Austin, Texas, with no passengers, so it counts in the ferry or positioning group. Soon after take-off the crew reported a right engine failure and turned back. After a go-around and about 20 minutes of holding, they reported difficulty controlling the aircraft and landed with a tailwind. The jet veered off the runway, the gear collapsed and it burned. A preliminary report exists; no cause is published.
How does it compare?
On our data the family scores several points below its closest rival, the Bombardier Challenger 300, but the likely ranges of the two scores overlap widely, so the data cannot tell them apart. The Challenger has two counted events in about three times as many flights and is ranked; the G280 is not ranked yet. One event moves a small fleet's rate more than two events move a larger one. The Gulfstream IV is an older, larger design in the classic class. Our method explains how counted events work.
How do I check a G200 or G280 charter?
- Ask which company holds the air operator certificate, and check it with the aviation authority.
- Ask for an ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO audit.
- Confirm two pilots trained on the type, and ask when they last practised an engine failure in a simulator.
On a flight tracker, GALX means a Galaxy or G200 and G280 means the newer jet.
Questions people ask
Is the Gulfstream G280 safe?
Our data lists no fatal G280 event up to 3 November 2026. The one fatal event in the family involved an older G200. With about 0.9 million flights since 2008 for the whole family, a clean G280 record does not prove a low risk, and the family is not ranked yet.
What is the difference between the G200 and the G280?
The G280 is a deep redesign of the G200 (originally the IAI Galaxy), with a new wing, a T-tail, new engines and more range. The two share the basic fuselage and are listed on one page. Flight trackers show GALX for the older jets and G280 for the newer ones.
What happened to the G200 at La Romana in 2026?
On 7 June 2026 a G200 positioning to Austin, Texas, with only its two pilots on board reported a right engine failure soon after take-off and returned to La Romana. It landed with a tailwind, veered off the runway, the gear collapsed and it burned. Both pilots died. The Dominican investigators have issued a preliminary report but no cause.
Is a G200 safe to charter?
The type is well established, with about 520 jets of the family in service. For any charter, check the operator that holds the air operator certificate, ask for a recent safety audit, and confirm two type-trained pilots.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Aibonito Aviation Gulfstream G200, La Romana, Dominican Republic, 7 June 2026 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: Nestoil Gulfstream G200, Abuja, Nigeria, 25 January 2018 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Silver Air Gulfstream G200 Galaxy, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 22 May 2018 (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 135 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 30 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.