It was 1954, England was at its forefront in technological terms and De Havilland wanted to conquer this new type of engine, called the jet engine. At the time, unlike today, propeller aircraft dominated the airspace flying 2x longer than modern aircraft do.
This aircraft was the marvel of the aviation industry, and was considered as the luxurious way to travel. Until it ultimately crashed on the coast of Italy after flying in from Singapore. The British government banned the aircraft for about 2 weeks before it started flying again, leading to another crash.
Investigation shows that the aircraft suffered from a manufacturing flaw, where rivets were hammered in the very thin airframe. The airframe could not support the stress of cabin pressurisation which led to the aircraft basically exploding mid air.
