The harrier was good except for the times it would inexplicably lose control and kill the pilot, which was a lot more than most planes. They called it “the widow-maker” for a reason. I think it was improved in later versions, but the earliest ones were notoriously unstable.

I know a guy who almost got hit by a harrier that had suddenly flipped above the pad during a vertical take off, crashed upside down with full throttle engaged, and then slid right through a big-ass hanger he was right outside of. He had to literally dive out of the way and be among the very first on scene to fight the flames. MCAS Cherry Point 5/1/1980. Yeah, this happened on May Day lol

It happened again, also at Cherry Point, less than a year later when an experienced pilot was killed in very similar circumstances after his harrier also randomly lost control during vertical take off. 1/18/81. Interestingly, this was just 5 days after they had officially stricken the aircraft from the previous crash.