Small plane safety ranking
How safe is each small plane?
Light piston aircraft, from the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee to the Cirrus SR22 and Beechcraft Bonanza, ranked by the chance of a fatal accident on a flight, for student pilots, renters, owners and their passengers.
This ranking uses flights in the United States and fatal accidents in the United States from 2008 to 28 October 2026 only. The FAA counts every registered aircraft and surveys how much each class flies, ADS-B tracks and NTSB airframe hours show how much each type flies, and the US accident record is close to complete, so that is where flights and accidents can be matched. We count every fatal accident except deliberate acts and accidents on military, test and illegal flights, and divide by all flights of the type, from take-off to landing. In a small plane the pilot, the weather and the kind of flying matter more than the type, so each page lists what went wrong. Full methodology
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk (incl. 172RG Cutlass), score 58, grade C
- Cessna 150 and 152, score 54, grade D
- Diamond DA40, score 54, grade D
- Piper PA-28 Cherokee, Warrior, Archer, Arrow, score 50, grade D
- Piper PA-44 Seminole, score 50, grade D
- Cessna 180 and 185 Skywagon, score 50, grade D
- Cirrus SR20, score 49, grade D
- Piper Cub family (J-3, PA-12, PA-18 Super Cub), score 48, grade D
- Cessna 182 Skylane, score 48, grade D
- Cessna 206 and 207 Stationair, score 47, grade D
- Piper PA-34 Seneca, score 47, grade D
- Piper PA-31 Navajo and Chieftain (piston), score 46, grade D
- Cessna 177 Cardinal, score 46, grade D
- Piper PA-23 Apache/Aztec and PA-30/39 Twin Comanche, score 41, grade D
- Cirrus SR22 and SR22T, score 41, grade D
- Cessna 210 Centurion, score 40, grade D
- Mooney M20, score 40, grade D
- Beechcraft Baron and Travel Air, score 39, grade F
- Cessna 414 and 421, score 38, grade F
- Beechcraft Bonanza (33, 35, 36), score 38, grade F
- Cessna 310 and 340, score 38, grade F
- Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six, Saratoga, Lance, score 37, grade F
- Piper PA-46 Malibu, Mirage, M350 (piston), score 35, grade F
24 families
| # | Type | Fatal risk per flight | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cessna 172 Skyhawk (incl. 172RG Cutlass)Cessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1956 | Single-engine piston | 58C, Fair | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 150 and 152Cessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1958 | Single-engine piston | 54D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Diamond DA40Diamond Aircraft · since 2002 | Single-engine piston | 54D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Piper PA-28 Cherokee, Warrior, Archer, ArrowPiper Aircraft · since 1961 | Single-engine piston | 50D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Piper PA-44 SeminolePiper Aircraft · since 1979 | Twin-engine piston | 50D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 180 and 185 SkywagonCessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1953 | Single-engine piston | 50D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cirrus SR20Cirrus Aircraft · since 1999 | Single-engine piston | 49D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Piper Cub family (J-3, PA-12, PA-18 Super Cub)Piper Aircraft · since 1938 | Single-engine piston | 48D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 182 SkylaneCessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1956 | Single-engine piston | 48D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 206 and 207 StationairCessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1964 | Single-engine piston | 47D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Piper PA-34 SenecaPiper Aircraft · since 1971 | Twin-engine piston | 47D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Piper PA-31 Navajo and Chieftain (piston)Piper Aircraft · since 1967 | Twin-engine piston | 46D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 177 CardinalCessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1968 | Single-engine piston | 46D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Piper PA-23 Apache/Aztec and PA-30/39 Twin ComanchePiper Aircraft · since 1954 | Twin-engine piston | 41D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cirrus SR22 and SR22TCirrus Aircraft · since 2001 | Single-engine piston | 41D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 210 CenturionCessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1960 | Single-engine piston | 40D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Mooney M20Mooney · since 1955 | Single-engine piston | 40D, Weak | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Beechcraft Baron and Travel AirBeechcraft (Textron Aviation) · since 1958 | Twin-engine piston | 39F, Poor | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 414 and 421Cessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1967 | Twin-engine piston | 38F, Poor | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Beechcraft Bonanza (33, 35, 36)Beechcraft (Textron Aviation) · since 1947 | Single-engine piston | 38F, Poor | ||
| Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary | Cessna 310 and 340Cessna (Textron Aviation) · since 1954 | Twin-engine piston | 38F, Poor | ||
| 22 | Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six, Saratoga, LancePiper Aircraft · since 1965 | Single-engine piston | 37F, Poor | ||
| 23 | Piper PA-46 Malibu, Mirage, M350 (piston)Piper Aircraft · since 1984 | Single-engine piston | 35F, Poor | ||
| Not ranked yet. These types have fewer than 3 million flights and at most one fatal accident counted, so their scores are too unsure to rank: each page gives the likely range. | |||||
| Not ranked | Diamond DA42 and DA62Diamond Aircraft · since 2004 | Twin-engine piston | 53D, Weak | ||