You are wrong about the Starfighter!
You are right, mate. Much of the '104's reputation has been built on newspaper sensationalism and political helmsmen. As 45-shooter says, while it was a machine that had its share of accidents, proportionally it had no more than many others. Take the Harrier, for example. Nobody would pick on that machine but it certainly wasn't he safest in the sky. The '104, like the Harrier, was a cutting edge machine and with that comes a learning process. The Germans spoilled it for themselves and it was their doctrine that fuelled so many problems.
The Starfighter is way up there as one of the greats and always will be!