The de Havilland Comet Crashes

The de Havilland Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner, entering service in 1952 and offering passengers unprecedented speed and smoothness compared with propeller-driven aircraft. Its early success was soon overshadowed by a series of catastrophic accidents that struck during the type's first years of operation, including a crash near New Delhi, India, in 1953.

After further disasters in 1954, the Comet fleet was grounded and subjected to one of the most thorough accident investigations of its era. Engineers eventually traced the in-flight breakups to metal fatigue in the pressurized fuselage, with cracks originating near window and structural openings that concentrated stress over repeated pressurization cycles. The findings revolutionized the understanding of fatigue in pressurized aircraft.

The lessons learned from the Comet crashes reshaped aircraft design and testing worldwide, leading to rounded windows, improved structural standards, and rigorous fatigue testing. Although later, redesigned Comet versions returned to service, the tragedies allowed competitors to seize leadership of the jet airliner market, even as the investigation left a lasting legacy of safer aviation.