Watch the Worlds Largest Aircraft Make the Slowest Crash Landing
The Airlander 10 made a delicate crash landing during a test flight Wednesday, coming safely to rest in a nearby field in southern England.
The plane landed unexpectedly after nose-diving, despite a successful first test flight earlier in August. While the Airlander 10 sustained damage, its crew all walked away from the crash safely.
The aircraft is 302 feet long and weighs 44,100 pounds, making it the largest in the world. However, it is still in the testing stage. Its creators said they are still hopeful the aircraft will soon be up and running and that they will be producing at least 10 Airlanders a year by 2021.
Hybrid Air Vehicles runs a robust set of procedures for flight test activities and investigation of issues, the company said in a statement. We will be running through these in the days ahead as we continue the development of the Airlander aircraft.
Developed by Hybrid Air Vehicles for the U.S. military, the aircraft is designed to be able to stay in the air for five days at a time and two weeks when flown remotely.
Jess McHugh is a digital reporter at Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter at @MchughJess.
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