Airlander 10

After maiden flight for the the world’s longest aircraft, creators of the aircraft say 100 could be in skies within five years

Unlike hydrogen, the gas used in the Hindenburg, helium is not flammable.

Ooops, The world’s largest aircraft has crashed during its second test flight.

The £25m Airlander 10 - which is part plane and part airship - is understood to have sustained damage to its cockpit when it nosedived into the ground upon landing.

No one was injured in the accident, which happened as the aircraft – nicknamed ‘the flying bum’ - was coming into land at Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire, at around 11am on Wednesday.

Even it crashed seriously it would not burn like the Hindenburg, since it uses helium and not hydrogen.

Thirty-six people died in the Hindenburg accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. This was the last of the great airship disaster; it was preceded by the crashes of the British R38 in 1921 (44 dead), the US airship Roma in 1922 (34 dead), the French Dixmude in 1923 (52 dead), the British R101 in 1930 (48 dead), and the USS Akron in 1933 (73 dead).

The Airlander 10, nicknamed 'the flying bum' due to the unusual shape of itsrear end, took off at 7.40pm from Cardington Airfield, in Bedford.

It was first developed in 2009 for the US government as a long-endurance surveillance aircraft but its manufacture was hindered by defence cut-backs.