The Comet of De Havilland
The De Havilland Comet, the first commercial jet aircraft, was hailed as a breakthrough in the transportation of people over long distances. It also had a number of issues, including overshooting runways and experiencing unpredictable bouts of decompression while in flight. Within the first year of the airliner’s operation, three Comets crashed.
The company persisted, reworking the Comet whenever they discovered mechanical flaws. Nonetheless, other mishaps occurred, some of which were tragic, all in the name of progress toward commercial flight. Thankfully, the Comet was finally phased out, but the final version flew until 1997.