A de Havilland DH.88 Comet crashed during a flying proms air display at Shuttleworth on Saturday evening, leaving the pilot taken to hospital after being removed from the aircraft. The Shuttleworth Trust said no one else on site was injured, and the second half of the orchestral performance would continue.
Shuttleworth at 19:20 BST
The aircraft was landing when the incident happened at 19:20 BST at Shuttleworth visitor attraction near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. It had one person on board.
The pilot was safely removed before being taken to hospital. The Shuttleworth Trust said the crew member in question had been extracted and was responding.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had been called to reports of an aircraft crash at the site on Saturday evening. Fire crews from Sandy and Kempston attended along with two fire officers, and Shuttleworth's on-site fire crews received incident management support from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service crews.
The emergency response moved quickly because the crash happened during a live public display. The trust said there had been no danger or injuries to anyone else on site, even as crews handled the aircraft and the pilot was sent on for treatment.
Second crash in May
The incident was the second crash at the airfield in recent months. Another crash happened during the Wings and Wheels Air Show in May, and the pilot involved in that incident was not seriously injured.
For people at Shuttleworth, the immediate question is whether the display can keep going safely after a landing crash. The trust said the orchestra would continue, and the focus now is on the pilot's recovery and the incident response already under way.
