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Aircraft Design Flaws
7 of The
Worst Aircraft Design Flaws of All Time
Flight is one of
the safest ways to travel, but there have been some serious aircraft design
flaws in the past.
By Christopher McFadden
The history of aircraft is
filled with some incredible designs that have stood the test of time. But there
are many others that
proved to be less than perfect.
Whilst flying is still
one of the safest ways to travel, when it does go wrong it tends to be fatal.
Here are 7 of the
worst aircraft design flaws of all time. This list is far from exhaustive and
is in no particular order.
1. The DC-10 was famously poorly designed
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was one
of the most recognizable jetliners of all time. It highly distinct design made
a favorite amongst many aircraft fans the world over.
But this belayed a
fatal design flaw in early aircraft that led to the plane crashing more than it
should.
Several high profile crashes
occurred throughout its career including a 1973 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in
Picardi France that killed everyone on board.
The problem was an
issue with the cargo bay door design that would open outwards not inwards. The
cargo door burst open causing the cabin floor to collapse that eventually
brought the aircraft down.
This issue was later
rectified, the aircraft is recognized as one of the most reliable in its day.
2. The ME-163 Komet had promise but was
rushed
Towards the end of the Second
World War, the National Socialist war machine was throwing everything it had at
the advancing allies.
One of their more
experimental war machines was the ME-163 Komet.
This
diminutive rocket-powered fighter that could travel over 100
mph (160 km/h) faster than any of the fastest ally fighters
around. But it had some inherent issues.
One
of which was its fuel capacity. Once in the air pilots had only three minutes
to intercept and attack allied bombers and fighters.
After
which they needed to glide, unpowered, back to base - leaving them as sitting
ducks for allied fighters.
It
also had no landing gear to speak off. Returning pilots and aircraft were
regularly lost during a highly precarious landing using its belly skid
3. The
Hindenburg was a tragedy that could have been avoided
One of the most famous
aircraft design flaws of all time was the catastrophic Hindenburg disaster.
This event single-handily stalled the promising future of airships as passenger
aircraft.
It
famously caught fire and crashed whilst attempting to dock in New Jersey in
1936. Later investigations found that the airship broke up from an
electrostatic discharge that ignited the airship's hydrogen gas.
Whilst
later airships replaced hydrogen with the more inert Helium gas, the days were
numbered for passenger airships.
4. The
"Christmas Bullet" was a complete shambles
The "Christmas Bullet" was an interesting
prototype biplane designed by Dr. William Whitney Christmas in 1918.
History would not remember
William, or his aircraft, kindly.
He
was later described by one aviation historian as "the greatest charlatan
to ever see his name associated with an airplane."
As for his groundbreaking
aircraft, it had no struts supporting the wings.
Instead,
they were supposed to flap like a bird's wings. Needless to say, both
prototypes crashed during their first flights.
His
design was completely incapable of flight and the wings simply twisted off the
airframe sending the remaining fuselage careening to the ground.
5. The
Britsh BE-9 was an interesting concept
The early decades of
the 20th Century can be seen as the "Cambrian Explosion" of aircraft
design.
Many interesting
concepts appeared during this time including early monoplanes and even triplane
designs.
But 'the biscuit' might have
to go to the Royal Aircraft factory's B.E.9.
This aircraft is like nothing you've likely ever seen.
The
plane's designers believed in order to give a gunner an unimpeded field of
view, they should be placed at the front of the aircraft.
Sounds
reasonable, but there is one problem. That's where the propeller tends to be.
Their
solution? Put the gunner in front of the propeller - what could possibly go
wrong?
6. The
de Havilland Comet was ahead of its time but had a flawed design
Post WW-2 British aircraft
design was a 'Golden Age' for the industry. Many incredibly advanced designs
appeared in this period.
One
of which was the revolutionary de Havilland Comet. This was the world's first
jetliner and it first entered service in 1952.
But
it had a serious design flaw that would ultimately ground the plane. It's cabin
windows were square in design rather than the rounded ones were
are all familiar with today.
This
tiny, yet crucial design difference, caused three Comets to break up mid-air
soon after entering service.
Lessons
were quickly learned but it was too late for the Comet.
7. The
Ca 60 Noviplano might be the world's ugliest aircraft of all time
You may, or may not, have
heard of the Caproni Ca 60 Noviplano.
Designed in the 1920s, this interesting aircraft had no less than nine wings.
It
was designed to carry 100 passengers and its three set of three wings carried a
total of eight engines. The plane only had one test flight and reached an
incredible altitude of 60 feet.
It
soon crashed back down to earth into some water. Fortunately, the pilot
survived but the prototype was completely destroyed following a fire.
It also
happens to be one of the ugliest planes you've ever seen.
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