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Is there an airplane that never crashed?

Or more specifically, without any crash history on any database. By crash, let's say any accident / incident which resulted in damage to the airplane and/or injuries to the people on board.

Not including military airplanes, only commercial or general aviation aircraft. Obviously I'm asking about a plane that had multiple flights and maybe is even still flying, not an experimental built that only flew a few times.

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    $\begingroup$ There definitely are, mostly planes with a small user base and of recent introduction. I.E. think of a newly introduced high end glider (fully certified, GA) with only a few produced . It may take a while before someone has a bad landing in it but I do not think this would be a satisfactory answer. You may want to be more precise in you question, adding e.g minimum number of aircraft built, definition of crash (hull loss? fatal?), if in commercial use, years of service, etc $\endgroup$
    – Caterpillaraoz
    Jan 18, 2018 at 11:28
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    $\begingroup$ Perhaps some clarification is needed for the purpose of the topic. What would mean "crash" ? Hull loss, belly landing, plane skidding off the runway etc. ? $\endgroup$
    – Pierre Chevallier
    Jan 18, 2018 at 11:31
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    $\begingroup$ This website list 5 aircraft types that have never had a fatal accident (Aibus A340, A380, Boeing 717, 747-8, 787) airsafe.com/events/models/rate_mod.htm. $\endgroup$
    – Penguin
    Jan 18, 2018 at 11:56
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    $\begingroup$ Here's a very recent report that quotes 10 aircraft that have never had a fatal accident (in addition to the above, Bombardier C series, CRJ regional jet, Boeing 737 MAX, and Airbus A350, A320 neo): pressreader.com/australia/the-west-australian/20180104/… You would have to take this list and find which/if any had never had any non fatal event. $\endgroup$
    – Penguin
    Jan 18, 2018 at 12:14
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    $\begingroup$ A full answer to this is going to be a very, very long list and one that is constantly changing. Airliners crash so rarely that new types often go well more than a decade with nothing that I would consider to be a 'crash.' The 777 went 13 years before its first crash and nearly 2 decades before its first fatal one, despite probably having the 2nd most number of total flight hours for a widebody behind only the 747 by that point. Additionally, the GA fleet has a lot of types that don't have a lot of frames. However, I would expect all GA types with lots of flight hours to have had crashes. $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Jan 18, 2018 at 15:57

2 Answers 2

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As mentioned in this answer: there are seven commercial aircraft types with zero hull loss accidents:

  • B717
  • CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000
  • A380
  • B787
  • B747-8
  • A350
  • C-series
  • A320Neo

Only the first two types have logged more than 1 million departures. The remaining ones are relatively recent types and are still working on statistical significance; especially the long haul aircraft fleet takes a long time to accumulate 1 million departures at 1-2 flights per day per aircraft.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi @Koyovis. Just want to clarify - in the linked answer it says there are 6 types with zero accidents "working on their 1 million departure milestone". Here you state 2 have achieved that. Is there a source for actual number of departures (or best current estimate)? Also, has the A340 had a hull loss but not a fatal accident? I'm not sure I'd consider the A380 "new", some airframes are 10 years old. See airfleets.net/listing/a380-1.htm Regards. $\endgroup$
    – Penguin
    Jan 18, 2018 at 17:29
  • $\begingroup$ The A380 has been in commercial service for more than ten years -- I wouldn't call that "new". However, there aren't a huge number of them (about 220 in service, according to Wikipedia) and they fly long-haul routes so don't make many departures. $\endgroup$
    – David Richerby
    Jan 18, 2018 at 17:41
  • $\begingroup$ @Penguin Yes, the A340 has had 5 hull losses, but no fatal accidents (though one of them did result in 12 serious injuries and dozens of minor ones after a runway overrun.) 3 of the hull losses were during landings and the other 2 were on the ground (one destroyed by hostile actions, the other by failing to chock or brake the aircraft during an engine run-up test, resulting in a collision with a concrete wall.) $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Jan 18, 2018 at 17:44
  • $\begingroup$ don't forget the 737MAX. If you count the 320NEO as a separate type, that one is as well :) $\endgroup$
    – jwenting
    Jan 19, 2018 at 6:55
  • $\begingroup$ Yes indeed, the graph predates first delivery of a MAX. $\endgroup$
    – Koyovis
    Jan 19, 2018 at 7:24
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A comprehensive answer to your question would be very difficult. The Honda Jet has never crashed. The Boeing 787 has never crashed. The A380 has never crashed, but both appear in safety databases based on incidents that have occurred: engine emergencies on the A380 and electrical fires on the 787.

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    $\begingroup$ Which is quite reassuring, since it shows that the A380 can handle engine trouble safely, and an electrical fire on a 787 isn't fatal. $\endgroup$
    – DrMcCleod
    Jan 18, 2018 at 23:28

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