(very quietly)
Listen mush.
If indeed it was number three, consider this. When an R22 flies, it is number three (less quietly now) the majority of the time. This being so, the record of the machine is all the more notable.
BMWs are involved in more road accidents than Bristols, but only Lu Zuckerman would argue that the reason for this is a hidden (from everyone but Lu) defect in the design of the former.