This article was updated on August 29, 2016.
The Airlander 10 hybrid airship was damaged on August 24 while conducting its second flight from Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire, UK. Developer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) said the 302-foot-long, helium-filled vessel flew for 100 minutes and made a “heavy” landing upon returning to the airfield; there were no injuries.
However, video and photos taken by observers outside the airfield and published online, showed that the two test pilots lost control of the machine at about 100 feet, from which it slowly descended nose-down at an attitude of about 30 degrees. They were lucky to escape without injury, as their cabin at the front of the vehicle's lower substructure was substantially damaged.
HAV denied witness claims that a line hanging from the airship struck a telegraph pole before it landed, BBC News reported. Britain’s Air Accident Investigations Branch will investigate the incident, the news service said. In a subsequent statement, HAV admitted that a mooring line trailing from the airship had hit power lines close to the airfield, but said that this had not contributed to the accident.
In a short initial statement, HAV said: “The Airlander experienced a heavy landing and the front of the flight deck has sustained some damage which is currently being assessed. Both pilots and the ground crew are safe and well and the aircraft is secured and stable at its normal mooring location.”
Originally developed under the U.S. Army’s Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) program, which the service cancelled in 2013, the modified Airlander 10 returned to flight for the first time on August 17, staying airborne for about 20 minutes. That was the beginning of a 200-hour flight-test program to certify the aircraft with the European Aviation Safety Agency and UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The Airlander 10 is fitted with four turbocharged diesel engines, configured with ducts, to provide vectored thrust for takeoff, landing and ground handling operations. It was not apparent from the video and photographs whether one or more of these had failed, causing the precipitous descent. During the first and only flight of the LEMV, the rear of the vehicle struck the ground on takeoff, and an engine later failed inflight, although neither event was acknowledged by officials at the time. HAV has made a number of changes to the LEMV configuration since then, including an increase in the size of the four rear fins that include moving control surfaces.