Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 15
DH.88 Comet Crashes at Shuttleworth Air Display, 1 Pilot Hospitalized
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 15

DH.88 Comet Crashes at Shuttleworth Air Display, 1 Pilot Hospitalized

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 15

Summary

  • 19:20 BST marked the crash of a de Havilland DH.88 Comet at Shuttleworth near Biggleswade, with the sole occupant extracted safely and taken to hospital.
  • The pilot was understood to be landing when the aircraft came down during a "flying proms" event, prompting a large emergency response seen in images from the site.
  • Shuttleworth said no one else was injured or in danger, and the second half of the orchestral performance continued after the crew member was removed.
  • Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue said crews from Sandy and Kempston attended but only provided incident-management support to Shuttleworth's on-site fire team.
  • The crash is Shuttleworth airfield's second aircraft incident in recent months after another air show crash in May, when the pilot was not seriously hurt.

Insights

With two terrifying crashes in just months at Shuttleworth, are air show spectacles pushing historic planes and their pilots past the breaking point?
Why did the orchestral performance calmly continue while emergency crews rushed to extract a pilot from a violently mangled historic aircraft nearby?
After a violent nose-over tore its tail off, can the legendary DH.88 Comet racing aircraft ever be salvaged and flown again?