In May of 1940, the Fairey Albacore joined the service of the Royal Navy. It was designed to replace an earlier version of the Fairey aircraft, but it turned out to be not as functional as the original and was retired by 1944.
The Fairey Albacore was a single-engine biplane with a torpedo bomber. Fairey Aviation built the plane for use in the Second World War. The plane was fitted with upgrades such as in-cabin heating, a more powerful engine, hydraulic flaps, and was capable of dive bombing. In 1942, it was at its height, equipping fifteen Fleet Air Arm squadrons, and then a year later, the Fairey Barracuda took its place.
The Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia
The EMB-120 Brasilia is a modern commuter airline built by Embraer of Brazil in 1985. The turboprop aircraft has a maximum capacity of 30 people and is used as a regional hopper. While the EMB-120 is still in service today, its lousy safety record makes you wonder how that is possible.
Its first crash occurred only a year after it began commercial flight. On September 19, 1986 an EMB-120 smashed into a mountain near Brazil. All five people on board were killed. Again in 1987, a fatal crash into a forest killed 16. In 1988, all on board were killed. In 1991, there were two crashes, the first one killed all 23 people, including U.S. Senator John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter. The record continues in 1995, two in 1997, one in 1998, again in 2002, and 2004. In 2010, two were killed, in 2011 two crashes killed many of the passengers, and in 2012 there were two crashes. Again in 2013, 2015, and the latest, in 2017—no survivors.
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9
The B.E.9 was a prototype reconnaissance plane that was built off the B.E.2 model in 1915. The added feature caused severe safety problems. A seat was mounted in front of the plane’s propeller to accommodate a gunner. Nicknamed the “pulpit,” the seat provided a gunner a perch to aim and fire his WWI-style machine gun. He had a great view of what was ahead, but it wasn’t the safest seat on the plane. The propeller was one hazard, and the proximity to the engine in the case of a crash risked certain death, even in the event of a mild crash.
After testing it, Hugh Trenchard, head of the Royal Flying Corps, said, “This type of machine cannot be recommended.” Major Hugh Dowding agreed. He said the B.E.9 was “an extremely dangerous machine from the passenger’s point of view.” By 1916, it was sent back.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich-23 MiG-23
“The MiG-23 was a nightmare, maintenance was a nightmare,” said a U.S. Air Force former squadron commander who tested the aircraft. “The guys hated flying it,” he said. Also known as the Flogger, the MiG-23 was built in the Soviet Union by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau. It’s one of the most common military fighter planes, a third-generation jet fighter, and it was introduced in 1970.
The MiG-23 fought in the Vietnam War and in the Arab-Israeli Wars. In the latter, the MiG-23 was humiliated by Israeli forces who took down close to 12 of them over Lebanon and Syria. The aircraft’s reputation never really recovered. The Soviets admitted the MiG-23 was inferior to its competition, the F-15A, saying the Flogger was inferior in almost every way. India acquired the aircraft and found it to be prone to accidents. U.S. Air Force test pilots were also concerned, saying they were afraid the engines would blow up during flight.
The Yakovlev Yak-42
The Yak-42 is best known for the tragic plane crash in 2011 that killed the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team. A botched takeoff caused the aircraft capable of holding up to 120 people, to careen into a riverbank. Everyone on board except for a flight engineer was killed.
Granted, commercial air travel in Russia does not boast a stellar safety record, the Aviation Safety Network called it the “deadliest place to fly” in 2011, but the Yak-42, particularly, has an abysmal history. It is responsible for a total of nine fatal accidents, including the hockey team tragedy. In all, 570 people have died on that airliner. The first crash took 132 lives killing everyone on board, when it tore apart midair in Belarus on the 28th of June 1982. The Yak-42 is still in service.