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de Havilland Comet

Airliners and Commercial Jet Aircraft

The de Havilland Comet is a British jet airliner that entered service in 1952 as the world's first commercial jet airliner. Early Comets suffered a series of fatal structural failures traced to metal fatigue around window cutouts, a finding that reshaped aircraft engineering and certification standards worldwide even as a redesigned Comet later returned to service.

Facts
Year
1952 1
Significance
The world's first commercial jet airliner; its early structural failures reshaped aircraft design and accident investigation practices. 1
Manufacturer or Builder
de Havilland 1
Connections

Exemplifies

Aviation, Modes

Followed By

Boeing 707, Vehicles

The Comet was the first commercial jet airliner; the 707 succeeded it as the dominant jet airliner from 1958.

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: de Havilland Comet
Wikipedia
  • Legacy section
    The inquiries into the accidents that plagued the Comet 1 were perhaps some of the most extensive and revolutionary that have ever taken place.
  • Introduction section
    On 2 May 1952, as part of BOAC's route-proving trials, G-ALYP took off on the world's first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers.
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