The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser entered service with Pan American on 1 April 1949. Innovative for its double-deck configuration, luxurious interior and long range, it saw service into the early 1960s. Some people considered it most unsafe and we will soon see why.
Airlines such as United Airlines, Northwest Orient and BOAC flew the aircraft on US domestic and overseas flights. In the 1950s, it did gain a reputation for falling out of the sky.
A Most Unsafe Boeing
A channel called Histories Made on YouTube has put together a video that runs for almost 12 minutes about the Stratocruiser. It shines a light on why the aircraft kept being involved in accidents.
Pleasingly, it uses some of the great footage available, including the spectacular water landing caught on film by the US Coast Guard. The fact everyone survived that one is testament to the skill of the pilots involved.
Since the engines and propellers were the main issue with the Boeing 377, it’s perhaps a little unfair to pin the blame on Boeing. I would think it would be more Pratt & Whitney or the propeller manufacturers that would be more at fault here.
Regardless, it’s an interesting story from the annals of aviation history. This presentation is well put together, so it’s certainly worth a look.
Overall Thoughts
As the video points out, there are no Stratocruisers left in the world today. I always think it’s a bit of a shame when not one example of this old aircraft remains somewhere for people to visit.
While the video says this is perhaps Boeing’s worst airplane, I don’t really think it was the most unsafe. When you look at the statistics, a hell of a lot of Boeing 707s were involved in accidents, yet that plane is generally lauded as changing aviation as we know it. It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?
What did you think of the video? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via AirlineRatings.com
Interesting. Not a very attractive plane but I’d say it was the next generation of luxury after the 314. As to your safety comparison between the Stratocruiser and the 707 there are two major relevant considerations that strike me: the pure stupidity and arrogance of 707 pilots as enumerated in the book Skygods and the fact that there were so very many crashes of Stratocruisers for a fleet consisting of 56 total planes where there were around a thousand 707’s built.
Skygods is an excellent read, and it’s a very good point you make there. Quite a lot of 707s were lost, often due to pilots not really making the transition to jets very well. Definitely agree on the basis of a ratio though, of course!