Airlander 10aircraft. Credit: Hybrid Air Vehicles.

Airlander 10, the world’s longest aircraft, has collapsed and deflated into the ground after it broke loose from its mooring mast at an airfield in Bedfordshire, UK.

The incident happened a day after the sixth test flight of the Airlander 10, which is a combination of a plane and an airship.

It has inflicted minor injuries on two people present on the ground during the time of the incident.

“This is a safety feature to ensure our aircraft minimise any potential damage to its surroundings in these circumstances.”

Following the incident, Airlander 10 manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) said in a statement: “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 minimise 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.”

HAV further noted that it would evaluate the cause of the latest incident to find the extent of repairs required to the aircraft over the next few weeks.

The company also said that it would test a new type of Airlander aircraft and incidents of this type could happen during the development stage.

The Airlander 10 is currently going through its second phase of test-flying, known as Airworthiness Release 2a (AWR2a) that permits the aircraft to fly up to 7,000ft high and speeds of up to 50k.