Boeing’s twin disasters involving its newest single-aisle jet add to the history of rare aviation accidents that call into question the safety of the planes themselves.
Back-to-back incidents where the aircraft is probed as a possible culprit are far less common than the usual litany of pilot error, mechanical failure, weather, war and terrorism.In the modern era, at least, that’s because manufacturers can draw on decades of experience and face rigorous reviews before new models are cleared to carry people. Swift regulatory intervention can also help blunt the risk of repeat accidents from the same cause.
Lurking within the groundbreaking British plane were the seeds of trouble: flying at 25 000 feet and more, and speeds topping 450 miles per hour, the Comet’s hull was subject to stresses never experienced in a passenger aircraft. In 1953, a BOAC Comet broke up in midair over India, killing all 43 people on board. In 1954, another Comet flown by BOAC disintegrated en route to London from Rome. All 35 people on board died.
“The cost of solving the Comet mystery must be reckoned in neither money nor manpower,” Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared, fretting over the risks to the nation’s plane-making prowess. The eventual verdict: metal fatigue built up over repeated pressurisation until the planes exploded at high altitudes with bomb-like force. Three successive redesigns failed to restore public confidence.
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