Vertical’s eVTOL Prototype Had An Accident

On 9 August 2023 the British eVTOL startup Vertical Aerospace filed a K-6 form to the Securities and Exchang Commission (SEC) revealing an accident involved with its VX4 eVTOL prototype.

According to the filing, VX4 had an accident on Wednesday August 9, 2023 during flight testing at its Flight Test Centre at Cotswold Airport, UK. The aircraft was remotely piloted and there were no injuries.
 
Vertical Aerospace stated in the filing that the flight test programme is designed to establish the limits of the aircraft’s performance, and the incident occurred during an uncrewed test of the aircraft’s maneuverability during a motor failure test scenario, which is a key requirement to progress to crewed operations. They are working closely with the relevant authorities.

VX4 prototype of Vertical Aerospace