25 Worst Military And Commercial Aircraft
The Wright Brothers are probably the most well-known aircraft designers in history. They made many mistakes along the way, but there were plenty of other design failures that you've probably never heard about. Keep reading to see some of the worst designs in aviation history and find out why they made the list.
The Fairey Albacore Was Unpopular With Pilots
Pilots didn't think much of the Albacore, a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation from 1939 to 1943 for the British Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It was meant to replace the Swordfish model but pilots still chose to fly the older one instead.
The Albacore was retired earlier than expected due to its unpopularity with pilots. This shows that it wasn't designed well enough compared to its predecessor.
The Heinkel He 162 Volksjagerthe Was Made Quickly
In only 90 days, the Heinkel He-162 went from drawing to production. This plane was designed with a wooden frame due to metal shortages during WWII. It was intended that young pilots with minimal training could fly it but ultimately more expertise was required.
Unfortunately, the glue used to construct these planes caused corrosion of the airframe. The He-162 had a short lifespan as it was introduced in January 1945 and retired by May of that year.
The Douglas TBD Devastator Had A Deadly Design Flaw
The Douglas TBD Devastator had a fatal flaw; its torpedo could only be released while flying in an absolutely straight line at 115 mph, rendering it an easy target.
During the Battle of Midway, this proved disastrous - out of 41 launched, only 6 survived to make it back to their carriers. It was a tragedy for the U.S. Navy.
Blackburn's Botha Had Glaring Design Flaws
Blackburn's Botha was a two-engined torpedo bomber and reconnaissance plane but had several design flaws. Its poor view from the crew compartment made it unsuitable for recon, while its lack of power meant a fourth crew member was needed, making it too heavy to fire torpedoes. It was also hard to fly which led to many fatal accidents.
Ultimately, the aircraft proved worthless and became yet another failed project in Blackburn's history.
The Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia Has A Long List Of Problems
The Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia may not look like much, but it's still in use today. In 1991, one of these planes broke up mid-flight and all 14 passengers were killed.
This is just one example of the many issues with this plane; it has been called one of the worst passenger planes ever made. Despite this, Ameriflight airlines based in Dallas keep 10 as freight carriers.
The Italian Noviplano Was Not A Sight For Sore Eyes
The Ca 60 Noviplano was constructed by Italian plane-maker Caproni during the 1920s. It was intended to take 100 passengers on a transatlantic journey, but only flew twice. On its second trip from Lake Maggiori in Italy, it rose just 60 feet before crashing into the water.
This cumbersome aircraft had nine wings and eight engines, so failure seemed inevitable. Even worse, fire damaged the wreckage when it was retrieved from the lake.
The Yak-42 Has Some Major Faults
In a Jalopnik article about badly designed aircraft, user Sir Halffast shared his experience on the Russian passenger jet Yakovlev Yak-42. "The thought that a plane of this 'caliber' is still operating in 2013 is terrible," he wrote.
"I had the misfortune of flying in one on a domestic Ukrainian flight from Kyiv to Donetsk, and was amazed. For one, the top of the entry door is chest high on a 6'0" man. And of course, it has the horrible Soviet seats that fold flat forward with little provocation. And the rear stairway that rattles in flight as if it's about to pop open at any moment."
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet's Major Downfall
This intimidating-looking aircraft is the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. It was a rocket-powered interceptor specifically designed to shoot down enemy aircraft raiding Germany. Although it was fast, and could reach speeds 100 miles per hour faster than any plane in the Allied fleet, it could only carry enough fuel to last three minutes!
This meant the aircraft had to glide down to earth after each brief mission. Fuel leaks incurred during these hard landings frequently caused fires and explosions. Many pilots were killed during testing and training the Komet.
The Ilyushin Il-62 Has A History Of Failure
In the same Jalopnik discussion about readers' experiences on badly-designed planes, a pilot with the username For Sweden wrote in about flying the Soviet-era passenger jet Ilyushin Il-62. "It still uses manual flight controls, no power assist to move those flight control surfaces," he explained.
"If some ice gets in a hinge, it's just your muscles that will break it loose. It also has a history of failed thrust reversers and exploding engines that damage neighboring engines."
The Fairey Battle Was Disappointing
Developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and powered with a Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine, the Fairey Battle seemed a promising aircraft. But it proved the opposite, being heavy, slow, and with a limited range.
Nearly 100 were shot down in a single week, and the RAF withdrew the Battle from service by the end of 1940. Many consider it to be one of the most disappointing aircraft in RAF service history.
The ATR 72 Is Massively Outdated
Before American Eagle retired its fleet of ATR 72s, Jalopnik contributor Alex Murel advised people to avoid the extremely dangerous aircraft altogether. "It's massively outdated, and the existing fleet is really starting to fall apart," he explained.
"I understand that turboprops can be more cost-efficient for some flights, but these are old and feel like they're shaking the plane apart. 11 of the 508 built have been destroyed in crashes that resulted in the deaths of over 190 people," he continued. Those numbers certainly aren't reassuring, although the planes are still in service with other airlines.
A Terrible And Tragic History
This futuristic-looking Russian-built jet was one of two supersonic transport aircraft ever to enter commercial service (the other was the Concorde). It could reach the staggering speed of 1,200 miles per hour. But people just don't have the love for the Tupolev Tu-144, due to its terrible and tragic service history.
The aircraft was extremely unreliable and failed during flight numerous times. In fact, there was a failure on a fuel tank valve during the final passenger flight of Tu-144 in 1978. Cabin noise in the plane was also problematic: passengers seated next to each other had to pass hand-written notes because it was impossible to hear voices over the engine roar.
The Grumman X-29A Was Unflyable
In the 1980s and '90s, the U.S. Air Force used a Grumman X-29A with a unique forward-swept wing in fighter jet research. The wing configuration was intended to help the plane handle better at subsonic speeds but instead made it completely aerodynamically unstable.
Developed by Grumman, NASA, the Air Force, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the plane was a disaster. A NASA historian said of the X-29A, "It was unflyable -- literally -- without a digital flight computer on board, which made corrections to the flight path 40 times a second."
The British Bristol 188 Was Extremely Flawed
Everyone loves keeping up with the Joneses. That's why after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in a Bell X-1 in 1947, many other air forces wanted to have a fast research plane. Enter the British Bristol 188 that turned out to be extremely flawed.
Would you want to fly in something where the fuel tank leaked whenever you were flying? What about not being able to take off until you reach 300mph? The Bristol was supposed to be able to reach Mach 2.6, but it struggled to hit Mach 2!
The Wright Flyer Had No Control
According to the Smithsonian Institution, the Wright Flyer was “the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard." They forgot to mention that the time in the air lasted a maximum of 59 seconds.
It was also hard to manage and only covered 852 feet. On December 17, 1903, the Wright Flyer flew four times, but it would never retake flight because the pilot basically had no control over it. It was a significant step forward for innovation, but not so good for pilots.
A Dangerous Supersonic Airliner
The Tupolev Tu-144 was one of two supersonic airliners with the other being the Concorde. Both came out in the late '70s, and the Concorde became an icon while the Tupolev was overall dangerous. It's not good when the first passenger prototype crashes at the Paris Air show.
That crash happened thanks to 22 out of the 24 central systems failing mid-flight. Engineers also found that two airframes used were close to complete failure. The aircraft only took flight 55 times before getting shut down for good.
One Big Downfall
A man by the name of Samuel Pierpont Langley was a brilliant inventor and scientist who was also the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. After creating a great model aircraft that flew over a mile in 1901, he decided to step it up and build the first manned power flight.
All of the specs for the Aerodrome were on point. It had 52hp radial, the best power-to-weight ratio out of all the engines out there. The only (rather large) downfall is that it couldn't fly. It flew off of its catapult and fell into the Potomac River. Twice.
The MD-80 Is No One's Favorite Commercial Aircraft
In 2008, the New York Times published a lengthy list of problems that the passenger aircraft McDonnell Douglas MD-80 has exhibited over the years. The aircraft has been involved in multiple fatal crashes, killing many innocent people.
Less important but still of note: the MD-80 is slow, cramped, and inefficient. It is still in service, most notably with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, but many passengers prefer to travel in alternate planes.
This British Royal Flying Corps Experiment Was Not A Successful One
During WWI, the British Royal Flying Corps created an experimental reconnaissance aircraft called the B.E.9. It modified previous models by increasing the field of fire for the observer's machine gun. However, this layout backfired tremendously.
Although the gunner had a much better field of vision, his position left him at risk of injury. He could be cut in two by the propeller blades or crushed to death by the engine if the aircraft was to crash. A commander of RAF defenses called it "an extremely dangerous machine from the passenger's point of view."
The Accident-Prone Douglas DC-10
Having had 55 accidents with many fatalities to date, the DC-10 is one of the most poorly-manufactured jets to exist. Probably the biggest issue with it is that the cargo doors opened outward, as opposed to inward like regular planes.
Due to this flaw, an improperly closed door flew open in the middle of a flight in 1972, alerting the need for a redesign. Something similar happened in 1974, and then in 1979, an engine fell off the wing during take-off. Today, the carrier is much safer thanks to many redesigns.
The Blackburn 'Roc' Was A Total Design Failure
Designed to be a defense fighting plane that could protect other aircraft from enemies, the Roc was outfitted with a four-machine-gun turret directly behind the pilot. This made the plane incredibly heavy and, as a result, too slow to do its intended job.
The Roc was such a design disaster that the Royal Navy wouldn't even let it fly from its carriers. It only shot down one aircraft throughout the entirety of WWII.
The Cutlass Struggled
The Vought F7U Cutlass had one of the more interesting designs. By getting rid of the traditional tail and bringing in a swept-wing design, the aircraft had its fair share of problems since the first time it flew. Yes, the Cutlass was fast, but at times it would struggle to stay in the air.
To add insult to injury, the turbojets on the F7U didn't pack enough thrust for sufficient take-offs and landings. At least three of the prototypes crashed. Twenty-five percent of these aircraft became lost thanks to accidents.
The Saab 340 Is Considered One Of The Noisiest Commercial Aircraft
The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop commercial aircraft. It was designed and produced as the result of a partnership between Fairchild Aircraft and Saab AB in 1983. Still in service, the 340 is considered by some frequent flyers to be one of the noisiest commercial aircraft.
Aviation enthusiast BuckeyeFanFlyer took to FlyerTalk to share this experience. "I flew the Saab-340 last week for the first time...I could not believe the loud noise of the engine, yes I was sitting right next [to] it. Might think about having earplugs available." Yes, earplugs sound like a great idea for a trip on this plane.
Air Forces Ditched The MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, better known as a MiG-23, was a Soviet-designed fighter aircraft and the first Soviet plane with a 'look-down/shoot-down' radar. Production on the craft began in 1970. The 23 was meant to replace the earlier MiG-21 model, but due to the fact that the pilot had to sit in a narrow and cramped cockpit with limited vision, the MiG-21 remained more popular than its replacement.
After the Cold War, many air forces retired their MiG-23s but kept their MiG-21s. However, there are still some MiG-23s in limited service today.
The First Commercial Jet Powered Airliner
There are many great things one can say about the De Havilland Comet, but the bad certainly outweighs the good. The Comet might have had a great run, but there were things that you can't pass up like how it overshot runways and mid-air decompressions.
The Comet soon became the blueprint for how not to create an aircraft. They redesigned and updated it various times while it was in service, but that didn't stop the fatal accidents from tampering with its reputation.
