Aviation experts: Which types of airplane are inherently unsafe?

Question

Yes I know all types of commerical airplane are supposed to be extremely safe, but surely it is the case that some are inherently less safe than others by design.

A few examples:

Aircraft with outwards opening cargo doors.

Single and twin-engine aircraft with a poor power-to-weight ratio.

T-tail aircraft.

Get my drift?

So can someone give me a list of aircraft that the paranoid flyer should avoid?

Answer 1

I would steer clear of any airplane with a drunk pilot.

Answer 2

i don't have a problem with flying in a airplane that's uses jets but if it ever comes to propeller planes i don't trust those like DC-10s and things like those to me they are just a pringles can with wings

Answer 3

the ones that are in the air and the engines aren't working

Answer 4

In my opinion:

Unsafe: all the MD/DC, the boeing 737-100/200/300/400/500/700, 727, all propeller equiped planes, 747, 757, A300/310, and all the soviet made planes.

Safe Planes: B767, B777, B737-600/800/900, A320, A330, A340.

A380 don't know yet

Actually, any type of airplane can be unsafe. It depends on the airline. Design of the airplane can also make it unsafe, but today all modern aircraft are designed to be safe (Stay away from classic aircraft such as the MD-80).  So, the best plane to ride on are planes I've categorized as safe above and chose an airline with good safety records. BTW I never or will ever trust any Soviet  planes or airlines.

Answer 5

All aircraft are safe, and the safety depends on the Airline handling the aircraft. Jet Aircraft transport is deemed as the safest form of transport today. older aircraft, plus mediocre maintenance, are unsafe to fly. The EU has banned several airlines from flying into European airspace, citing these airlines lack the necessary safety standards. Most new aircraft today manufactured by Airbus and Boeing are safe aircraft, and as technology advances, so do the safety of aircraft. Aircraft Design today is guaranteed to be Fail-Safe, and safety depends on the proper maintenance of the aircraft. Old aircraft such as the DC-10, B737-200, DC-9, Fokker 100 and the B747 classic  (which are still  operated today by some airlines) are safe enough to fly, if subjected to regular maintenance procedures.

as to your concerns over outward opening cargo doors, this has been a common design in most new aircraft today, and safety measures have been strictly implemented to ensure that this device does not fail. T-tail designs are not unsafe, although it  has some advantages as well as disadvantages.

Happy Flying

Answer 6

There aren't any aircraft that paranoid flyers should avoid.

Inherently unsafe aircraft don't stay in use for very long.  Inherently unsafe design features rapidly disappear for the same reason.  It's very rare for any type of aircraft to show signs of serious design deficiencies that make it truly unsafe, but when this actually happens, the aircraft is removed from service very quickly.

A classic historical example is the De Havilland Comet, the first commercial jet airliner, which flew for a time in the 1950s.  The aircraft had serious design flaws that caused fatigue cracks to develop rapidly in the fuselage, and a serious of accidents occurred when the aircraft explosively decompressed in midair and were destroyed.  The aircraft was rapidly removed from service and never flew again in that specific model (a later model of the Comet corrected the design flaws and flew for many years, and some are still in service). The story of the Comet, though, is very exceptional.

Forty years ago, with the entry of a number of T-tailed, rear-engined airliners into service, it was discovered that this type of aircraft can enter an aerodynamic "superstall" from which no recovery is possible.  The existence of superstall had not previously been known, and several aircraft were lost before the phenomenon was understood.  Today, aircraft of this type have features such as aggressive stick pushers that prevent superstalls, and it is no longer a problem, so one cannot say that these aircraft are unsafe today.

Anyway, in summary, if it's unsafe, it doesn't fly for long.  All civilian transport aircraft currently in service are extremely safe.

If you really feel compelled to rank aircraft, I'd suggest avoiding new designs for a decade or so, until they've established a record.  It's unlikely that any new aircraft will prove to be truly unsafe, but nobody really knows until they've accumulated a lot of time in service.  Older aircraft, such as 737s and 747s, have enormous service histories and, while they are not perfect, their safety has been proven by time, and any quirks they might have are very well known and understood.

Answer 7

boeing sucks =[] there noisey and loud i would never fly in anything other than an airbus. Im going to be a comercial airline pilot Airbus is my choice. there are more electronics in airbuses  ( fly by wire technology ) versus the old systems that use moving parts to control the aircrafts movments

Answer 8

Just remember, the video on youtube of the auto  pilot crashing the jet into the trees...that was an air bus. That airliner that crashed in New York, after shedding the vertical stabilizer... also an air bus. See where I'm going with this?

Anyway, back to the question at hand. Every airplane is safe, when operated within it's intended performance envelope. Fly a plane equipped for vfr only into ifr conditions, and it's unsafe. All of the things you've listed are untrue, as there are certain safety and performance standards around which all aircraft are designed and built. I've got 450 hours in a seminole (T-tailed twin) and the company I was flying them for uses them exclusively for over 15k flight hours per year on all of the airframes combined. Their only loss was when one was flipped on the ramp in a hurricane.

Answer 9

Anything that travels hundreds of miles an hour, and is a highly complex machine that takes a highly trained operator is by defination iherently unsafe.

But most aircraft are extremly safe, when operated within their limits, but some aircraft have very bad stall/spin charactics when taken beyond that limit..

The F4-U had appalling stall and spin charactics, along with the P-39 aircorbra due to the engine behind the pilots seat.

Also the F-14 , although resistant to spins, would be almost unrecoverable because of flat spin.

Answer 10

I would say that the following are less safe than the average:

1. Gyrocopters - no margin for error - if the weather arrives at an inopportune time, your chances of landing safely are significantly reduced.

2. Ultralights, especially those that land on water - same as above, but with the added risk of a little extra weight in one float or the other (due to an unseen leak) resulting in an unrecoverable roll on takeoff.

3. Any high performance or experimental aircraft - These are not designed for safety as a primary criterion - they are designed for military or airshow specialized duty. They are therefore inherently less safe than say, a commercial or business aircraft with a long fleet history.  

4. Any aircraft, especially a military-type aircraft, that is not being maintained in the manner that it was designed to be maintained. Private owners that own military jets, for example, have to spend huge sums on maintenance - or take their chances.



Of course, whenever any of these is operated close to the ground or in limiting conditions like night or weather, then the risk is amplified.

Answer 11

Airplanes are safe as long as they're properly maintained...

Answer 12

If you want to do some research and check out whoever you fly with in future, go to www.aviation-safety.net

But dont worry, it's safer that your drive to work every day!!

Answer 13

A young man in my neighborhood died a few days ago while attempting to remove a wall in his house without sufficient knowledge of structural mechanics and carpentry.  Was his house inherently less safe than others by design?  Get my drift?

I would suggest the paranoid flyer at that level of intensity will not be comfortable with any aircraft.  You certainly are not going to travel very far without getting into a T-tail airplane or one with loading doors that open outward.

All passenger airplanes are certified safe for the use of the public by people who understand all the factors that contribute to safety and risk in great detail.

Perhaps you should take a train or a bus.  Or just stay at home.

Answer 14

Ones with inherently unsafe pilots.  Pilot error (imho) accounts for all but a few accidents and incidents.

Answer 15

.If you go and have a look at the accidents in 2006 you will find that aviation in America, Europe, middle east, far east and Australasia did not do bad at all. Then you go to the dark continent, Africa. In Africa there are thousands of very old aircraft but 2 manufacturers stands out: Antonov and Ilyushin.

These aircraft are mostly privately owned so maintenance is non existing. These 2 names are contributing to more than 80% of Africa's large aircraft accidents.