Just days after its first successful flight, Airlander 10 – the largest aircraft ever – has hard landed on terra firma its second test flight.
Recently, we wrote about Airlander 10’s first successful test flight which saw the largest aircraft on record complete a victory lap around an airfield. Now, just days later, the same craft has nosedived into the ground after the conclusion of its second test flight.
The craft, which flew smack into terra firma, had completed a 100-minute test flight. Hybrid Air Vehicles, its manufacturer, stated that the airship had “completed all the planned tasks” during its flight and proceeded to make a ‘heavy landing’ as it returned to Cardington Airfield in the United Kingdom.
Read: Airlander 10, the world‘s largest aircraft, completes its maiden voyage
The impact damaged the airship’s cockpit, yet thankfully Hybrid Air Vehicles has confirmed that crew members are ‘safe and well’.
Hybrid Air Vehicles has confirmed that it is set to run through a “robust set of procedures for flight test activities and investigation of issues” to establish what went wrong before it proceeds with any additional test flights.
One observer managed to capture the incident on video, which depicts the airship gracefully nosediving into the ground.
Airlander 10 will cost around $33 million USD to produce; Hybrid Air Vehicles envisions that the craft could be used to deliver aid and fuel relief efforts around the globe. The model is tipped to be not only quieter than regular aircraft, but further produces less pollution as well.
Airlander 10 ““ also known as “˜The Flying Butt‘ for its rather odd resemblance to a certain area of human anatomy ““ was originally designed for US surveillance efforts. Now, Hybrid Air Vehicles, its manufacturer, hopes to make 10 such airships per year by 2021.
Read: Facebook‘s Aquila drone concludes its first test flight
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Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
