Pilatus Aircraft · Business jet
Pilatus PC-24
Is the Pilatus PC-24 safe? It is not ranked yet: with no fatal accidents counted in about 300,000 flights since 2008, its record is too short to place it among the others: its score could be anywhere from 37 to 100.
Likely range 37 to 100
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 0 in 0.3 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
- 0.3 million
Estimated flights of all kinds. Flights of all kinds (private, charter, corporate, cargo, training and other civil use) 2018 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 244 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: 0.83 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 30.4 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 46%.
- Likely range
- 37 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
- 0
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 Pilatus PC-24 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
- One flight on the Pilatus PC-24This aircraft1 in 2.2 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.
The Pilatus PC-24 has no fatal event in our data up to 3 November 2026. But it has flown only about 0.3 million flights since 2018, so the confidence is low, the record of modern business jets as a class has a large effect on the score, and the type is not ranked yet. A young, clean record is a start, not a verdict.
What does a clean record prove?
Very little yet. A new family with 290 aircraft in service has not flown long enough to show rare failures. If the PC-24 were exactly as risky as the average modern business jet, a fleet with its flight count would still show no fatal event more often than not. So the zero is good news, but it cannot set the PC-24 apart from its class. The score will move as flights grow.
What is the PC-24, and who flies it?
The PC-24 is a twin-engine business jet from Pilatus of Switzerland, built on the idea of the PC-12 turboprop: a large aft cabin door, a roomy cargo area, and the ability to use short and unpaved runways. It first flew in 2015 and entered service in 2018. It seats about eight in a typical layout and has two Williams FJ44-4A engines. It is still in production.
It flies with private owners, charter and fractional operators, and as an air ambulance. It is certified for single-pilot operation, though many operators use two pilots.
What went wrong on the one non-fatal record?
The ASN database holds one PC-24 record. On 3 November 2023 a privately operated PC-24 flew from Vancouver to Kelowna, British Columbia. Climbing through FL240 at 280 knots, the crew felt a shudder and a loud bang. The aircraft yawed to the right, nosed down and began to accelerate. The crew retarded both thrust levers, tried left rudder and rudder trim, and then controlled the yaw by reducing speed and using differential engine thrust. They declared an emergency and landed at Kelowna. The 2 pilots and 1 passenger were not injured. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigated.
The ASN record says maintenance found the rudder mass balance weight arm had broken off and jammed the rudder, and the trim tab control rods had separated. No final report is in our data yet. The crew kept control with speed and differential thrust and landed with no injuries.
Single pilot or two?
A single pilot handles radio calls, systems and the weather alone. A second pilot adds a cross-check. Neither is wrong, but ask which one you get. Our data does not allow a comparison.
How do I check a PC-24 charter?
- Ask who holds the air operator certificate, and check it with the aviation authority.
- Ask for a recent ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO audit.
- Ask for the crew size and type training.
How do I tell if I am on one?
Flight trackers show the ICAO code PC24. Our method explains how the score treats young types with few flights.
Questions people ask
Is the Pilatus PC-24 safe?
Our data lists no fatal PC-24 event up to 3 November 2026, in about 0.3 million flights since 2018. That is too few flights to prove a low risk, so the confidence is low, the score leans on the record of modern business jets as a class, and the type is not ranked yet.
Can one pilot fly the PC-24?
Yes. The PC-24 is certified for single-pilot operation, and also flies with two pilots. Ask the charter operator which crew you will have.
What happened to the PC-24 near Kelowna?
On 3 November 2023 a private PC-24 climbing through FL240 felt a shudder and a bang, then yawed and nosed down. The crew declared an emergency and landed at Kelowna with no injuries among 3 on board. The ASN record says the rudder mass balance arm had broken off and jammed the rudder.
Can the PC-24 land on a gravel runway?
Yes. Pilatus designed it for short and unpaved runways, and it is approved for gravel and other rough surfaces. Check the operator's own limits for any particular strip.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Mark Anthony Group Pilatus PC-24, near Kelowna, British Columbia, 3 November 2023 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2022, World Bank departures, fleet model (opens in a new tab) · Zenodo
- 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) 2018 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 244 flights per aircraft per year (fleet with a median service life of about 27 years). Uncertainty roughly ±30%.