Fly Bum Crashes – well drifts away!

The World biggest flying machine deflated on the boundary fence.

It’s with sadness that the AirLander broke free of its moorings in a 5 mph breeze on saturday morning….. A spokesperson for AirLander said “Our initial assessment is that the aircraft broke free from its mooring mast for reasons that will be investigated”

A simple bowline knot would have worked but I bet it’s a more technical solution or human error that failed.

Whilst flying on Saturday morning I got a text from a friend reporting the incident to me, coincidently I was flying in that direction.

The hybrid vehicle got its name FLYING BUM as apparently it resembles the back side of Kim Kardashian.

The official statement and header image from Hybrid Vehicles :-

Today there was an incident with the Airlander aircraft at Cardington airfield. The aircraft was not flying at the time of the incident. Our initial assessment is that the aircraft broke free from its mooring mast for reasons that will be investigated. The aircraft has a safety system which operates automatically in circumstances of the aircraft breaking free of its mast, and is designed to rip open the hull and deflate the aircraft. This is a safety feature to ensure our aircraft minimises any potential damage to its surroundings in these circumstances. The aircraft is now deflated and secure on the edge of the airfield. The fuel and helium inside the Airlander have been made safe.

A member of HAV staff sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital for assessment as a precaution. She has since been discharged. A separate member of staff also sustained minor injuries while dealing with the aftermath of the incident.

A number of local roads and a local footpath were temporarily closed off by Bedfordshire Police and we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused local residents.

We are testing a brand new type of aircraft and incidents of this nature can occur during this phase of development. We will assess the cause of the incident and the extent of repairs needed to the aircraft in the next few weeks.