FutureFlight
Vertical Silent On Possible Impact of eVTOL Aircraft Prototype Flight Test Crash On Service Entry Timeline
Images posted online show significant damage to the first full-scale prototype of the company's VX4 eVTOL aircraft following a motor failure flight test.
Vertical Aerospace's VX4 eVTOL prototype was damaged during a flight test accident on August 9 at Cotswold Airport in the UK. (
Vertical Aerospace's VX4 eVTOL prototype was damaged during a flight test accident on August 9 at Cotswold Airport in the UK. (Image: Rachel Ramsay)

Vertical Aerospace has yet to comment on how damage to its eVTOL prototype aircraft during an August 9 flight test might impact its timeline for achieving type certification for the four-passenger vehicle by the end of 2026. The company has acknowledged that the first VX4 prototype was involved in “an incident” during untethered, remotely-piloted flight testing at Cotswold Airport in the UK and reported that no one was injured.

Several photos of the VX4 circulating online show what appears to be significant damage to the starboard wing, as well as to one or more of the tilting propellers and electric motors, and part of the landing gear. According to a report in the UK publication Pilot, a source at Cotswold Airport said that the aircraft had crashed to the ground from a height of around 20 feet.