World’s largest aircraft Airlander 10 crashes during its second test flight

Video The Airlander 10 hybrid – part airplane and part airship – has had a bumpy touchdown after piling into its landing site nose first.

The airship, which is bigger than the size of six double-decker buses, sustained damage on landing from its second test flight, Hybrid Air Vehicles said, adding that all crew were safe and well following the incident.

Spectators away from the airfield watching the landing can be heard exclaiming, in mostly reserved British tones, as the Airlander 10 came in crooked and hit the ground.

The 302-foot-long aircraft was originally designed for the US military, according to BBC. Earlier some reports said that the helium powered aircraft had developed a hitch while air-borne and hit a telegraph poll. “It’s a combination of an aircraft that has parts of normal fixed wing air craft, it’s got helicopter, it’s got airship”.

However, cutbacks in the defence budget led to the project being put on the shelf before HAV launched a campaign to see the Airlander 10 take to the skies a year ago.

Aircraft owners Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) had its first successful test flight on August 17.

HAV hopes to build ten of the craft, and then move on to the Airlander 50, a larger version capable of carrying six times as much cargo.

It measures in at 302-feet long and can stay airborne for five days.

The aircraft is created to stay airborne for up to five days at a time and will be able to withstand wind speeds of up to 85 knots.

The 44m wide and 26m high airship has originally been developed for the U.S. government as a long-endurance surveillance aircraft. The airship is on sale for £25 million (US$33.1 million) and can be used for a variety of purposes, including surveillance, communications, transport, and deliveries.