What is the safest aircraft? The most dangerous?

Question

I belive the Boeing 737 is most dangerous because it flies so much.

Answer 1

The fact that there are many 737s in service does not make it inherently dangerous. In fact, that suggests that airlines intentionally spend hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase aircraft that are not safe. They don't. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Airlines buy 737s in large numbers because they believe that the aircraft is safe and reliable.

Among commercial aircraft that are still commonly in service, the 747 has the highest rate of hull losses. Even still, the rate is only 2.54 hull losses per million departures. That's pretty impressive even for the "highest" rate. In comparison, the 737 300/400/500 series has a rate of .44 losses per million departures. The 737 600/700/800/900 series has a rate of .07 losses per million departures.

Several aircraft are tied at zero, including the A330, 777, 717, and several regional jets.

In short, all western-built jets that are commonly in service are quite safe.

When considering data of this sort, don't forget that the aircraft type isn't a factor in many accidents. Weather, pilot error, and other factors can cause an accident regardless of the aircraft type. Therefore, looking just at the aircraft type can be misleading.

Answer 2

I think small, single engine aircraft are the most dangerous. Especially since there are so many privately owned (less experienced pilots, less maintenance and older equipment) Cessna 180 comes to mind.

I see reports of them crashing all the time. The reports just don't make as big of a splash as 2 to 5 people are involved instead of 100's. And a lot of times they are reported missing, instead of crashed.

The safest - I would go for something that isn't just released where they might run into some bugs, while something that isn't been around for 10 years that could be starting to run into fatigue problems or ware and tear.