With the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch still probing the August 9 crash of Vertical Aerospace’s first full-scale VX4 eVTOL aircraft prototype, the company has discussed details about the incident in recent weeks. During the recent Royal Aeronautical Society’s Future of Flight Summit in London, Vertical’s leadership team said it is confident of having a second prototype ready to resume flight testing in the first quarter of 2024, with a third example of the four-passenger vehicle to follow by the middle of next year as the company works toward its type certification target in 2026.
For the remotely piloted flight at Cotswold Airport in southwest England on August 9, the left outboard electric motor was set to zero speed when the aircraft took off in ground effect and climbed out. It had just reached forward flight when the propeller on the opposing wing failed.
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