The New Zealand Herald

Airlander goes down nose-first

- — AFP

The world’s largest aircraft suffered cockpit damage after nosediving while landing on its second test flight, but there were no injuries, says its manufactur­er, Hybrid Air Vehicles.

The 92m-long Airlander 10, part helicopter and part airship, came down at Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshi­re, southeast England.

The aircraft was initially developed by the US Government as a surveillan­ce vehicle, but production was shelved as part of government cutbacks. Hybrid Air Vehicles launched a campaign to get the aircraft in the skies, and hopes to have the craft in production by 2021, possibly for surveillan­ce, communicat­ions and passenger travel.

 ??  ?? The Airlander hits the ground.
The Airlander hits the ground.
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