Airlander 10, the world’s largest aircraft, has crashed during its second test flight.

Airlander 10, the world’s largest aircraft, has crashed during its second test flight.

The huge ship – nicknamed “The Flying Bum” because of its pert, round back – crashed as it landed at its base at Cardington Airfield this morning, at the end of its second attempt to fly. Its official name is the Martha Gwyn – however, it gained notoriety not just because of its huge size but the interesting shape of its back.

“We’re debriefing following the second test flight this morning,” a spokesperson for the ship’s makers, HAV, said. “All crew are safe and well and there are no injuries.”

It isn’t clear if the ship itself took any damage during the crash.

The ship appears to have run into problems as it was making its way back onto the ground, when it flew into a telegraph pole and began running into problems.

“A line that was hanging down from the plane hit the telegraph pole about two fields away,” one eyewitness said. “Then, as it came in to land, it seemed to nose dive and landed on the cockpit, smashing it up.”

The 302-foot long ship made its maiden voyage last week.

The ship is on sale for £25 million. The makers hope that it can be sold for a variety of uses – including surveillance, communications and deliveries.

Airlander 10 can carry a ten tonne payload and is supposed to be able to stay in the air for up to five days. The company hopes to be building ten of them per year by 2021.

 

Independent