The Saab 340 is a commuter aircraft that hit the skies in 1984. It has had several accidents, including fatalities, and it has had some serious noise issues to contend with. The Saab 340 is a passenger twin-engine turboprop plane out of Sweden that can seat up to 36 people. With turboprop propulsion, it is more fuel-efficient, but the turboprop engines on this one made it particularly noisy. Finally, in the 1990s, they developed a high-tech noise cancellation system which took the din of the turboprops down by 10 decibels.
That’s a huge cut, but it underscores how loud the flight was. More significantly, the Saab 340 suffered four fatal crashes. Seven other crashes caused serious damage that was beyond repair, totaling the aircraft. At least two resulted from the undercarriage collapsing on landing. The others were likely due to pilot error.
The Douglas TBD Devastator
A prototype of the Douglas TBD Devastator was ready in 1935, but the torpedo bomber was obsolete by the time of WWII, notwithstanding the fact that the TBD was considered the world’s most advanced technology upon completion in 1937.
The technological advance was fierce during these years, and it was devastating for the TBD. During the Battle of Midway, 41 of the Douglas Aircraft Company’s torpedo bombers were sent out. They came back with zero torpedo hits and 6 left—35 were shot down. They became known as a death trap for the pilot and crew. The TBD crawled through the sky at 200 mph, and, at that speed, they could not defend themselves. To fire a torpedo, the plane had to flying slower than 115 mph, a speed that makes it very easy for the enemy to shoot at. After the Midway catastrophe, the Navy withdrew the TBD from battle. Out of the 139 built, only 39 were left by that time.
The LWS-6 Żubr
The LWS-6 Żubr was another WWII aircraft that was dead on arrival. The Polish twin-engine bomber was produced by the LWS factory prior to the War. Fifteen examples were delivered to the Polish Air Force by 1939, but since they were already obsolete, they were only used in training. Even in training, however, they proved dangerous.
The LWS-6 was slow, weakly armed, and performed poorly. Not only that, but they also had design flaws. One hazard was the undercarriage retracted upon landing. To remediate, they would fly with the undercarriage locked down.
The MD-80
McDonnell Douglas designed the MD-80 twin-engine commercial jetliner as an upgrade to the DC-9. The MD-80 is a single-aisle aircraft that seats up to 172 people. It was the “workhorse” of American Airlines, its most profitable plane for four decades, until the company retired their remaining 26 planes in 2019. On average, the MD-80 has a lower crash rate than other airlines making it one of the safest planes to fly, statistically. However, its long service has featured some ugly incidents.
A MD-80 packed with 156 passengers crashed in Detroit killing almost everyone on board, plus two ground crew. A 4-year-old little girl was the only survivor who was found strapped to her seat and buried in debris. In 1996, a fail-on-takeoff killed two on board. One crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California killing all 88 on board. Improper maintenance was blamed. The FAA tried to fine American Airlines $7.1 million for flying planes that were not properly maintained. On the upside, now that it is grounded, of course, those flight risks are gone.
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8 “Dash 8”
This plane has a lot of different names, but we’re going to call it by its most commonly recognized, the Dash 8. Manufactured by de Havilland and Bombardier Aerospace in Canada, it’s also known as the Q400. Another thing it is known for is its landing gear failures. In 2007, a total of eight gear failures caused accidents. In Denmark that year, four landing gear failures occurred upon touchdown. In Germany, Japan, Lithuania, and South Korea, there was a repeat of the same issue.
The airline, SAS, discontinued the use of the Dash 8 after the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration caught up with the airline and discovered SAS cutting corners in maintenance, finding 2,300 flights lacking in safety requirements. But landing gear failure was not the only problem. Nose gear issues were also jeopardizing the landings. These planes are in active use by Canadian, Australian and British airlines.