Warbirds in America / P-51 Mustang
How many P-51 Mustangs are still flying?
The FAA register lists 201 P-51 Mustangs with active US registrations. That is the closest official number there is, and it is not the number that fly. Registration says an airplane exists on paper. It does not say whether the engine turns.
What the register does hold is who owns these aircraft, where they are registered, when they were built, and which registrations also appear in accident records. This is the register as of October 15, 2026.
Most Mustangs belong to companies, not people
Only 47 of the 201 registered Mustangs, about one in four, are registered to an individual. 79 are registered to limited liability companies and 63 to corporations.
Who the Mustangs are registered to
Active US registrations by registrant type, October 15, 2026
California leads, and the map is wider than you would guess
Registered addresses span 35 states, with 7 registrations that carry no state at all. California has 40, Texas 19 and Florida 17. Delaware shows 16. The register records the owner's registered address, which is not necessarily where the aircraft is kept.
Where Mustangs are registered
Top eight states by registered address
A fleet of 1940s airframes
Of the 141 registrations with a year of manufacture, 126 were built in the 1940s. The oldest entry dates to 1942. 60 registrations carry no year of manufacture in the register.
When the registered Mustangs were built
Year of manufacture, 141 of 201 registrations
What "Limited" means, and why it dominates
131 of the 201 Mustangs, 65 percent, hold a Limited-category airworthiness certificate. That is the FAA's usual home for former military aircraft kept in their original form. 27 are Experimental, 6 are Standard, and 37 have no category recorded in the register extract.
The accident record: 50 events in 45 years
The NTSB database holds 50 accident records for Mustangs since 1982. 24 involved a death, for 33 fatalities in total. The aircraft were destroyed in 20 of the accidents and substantially damaged in 26.
The yearly count has fallen: 18 in the 1980s, then 14, 11, 5, and 2 so far in the 2020s. That is a count, not a rate. The database has no flight hours, so it cannot show whether Mustangs became safer to fly, and the number of aircraft in the air has changed over the same period.
NTSB accident records involving Mustangs
By decade of the accident, data to October 13, 2026
One more finding sits where the two datasets overlap. 17 registrations on today's register also appear on an NTSB accident record, and in 16 of those the aircraft was recorded as substantially damaged or destroyed. That is consistent with Mustangs being rebuilt after serious accidents. It can also mean a registration number was reused, so treat it as a lead and not a verdict on any single aircraft.
Questions people ask
How many P-51 Mustangs are still flying?
No official source publishes a count of Mustangs that are flying. The FAA register shows 201 P-51 and F-51 airframes with active US registrations as of October 15, 2026, which includes aircraft under restoration, in storage or on static display. The register cannot tell airworthy aircraft from the rest, and it does not cover Mustangs registered in other countries.
How many P-51 Mustangs were built?
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum says North American built more than 14,000 Mustangs, including 8,302 D-models, more than all other variants combined.
Can a private individual own a P-51 Mustang?
Yes. The register shows 47 Mustangs registered to individuals, 79 to limited liability companies and 63 to corporations. Ownership is legal and ordinary; the aircraft are expensive to buy and to keep flying, and the FAA places operating limits on many of them.
What is the difference between a P-51 and an F-51?
It is the same airplane. The US Air Force changed its fighter designation from P for pursuit to F for fighter in 1948, so surviving Mustangs appear in the register under both names. The register shows 111 as P-51D and 49 as F-51D.