A De Havilland DH.88 Comet Crashed While Landing in the United Kingdom

A spectacular accident occurred in the British historic aviation community on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at approximately 7:20 p.m. BST during the Flying Proms event, held at the Old Warden airfield at the Shuttleworth attraction, near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. The world’s only original, airworthy example of a De Havilland DH.88 Comet—the famous G-ACSS, nicknamed Grosvenor House—was severely damaged upon landing after performing an in-flight demonstration.

The twin-engine aircraft, known for its complex handling and tricky landings due to its conventional landing gear configuration, long nose, and low-slung cockpit, made an initial approach that ended in a go-around. During the second attempt, the aircraft bounced before skimming the runway, veering off the runway surface, and tipping forward onto its nose before coming to rest on its back. The impact notably tore off the tail, misaligning the fuselage’s horizontal stabilizers, while fire departments from Sandy and Kempston, along with rescue teams from Old Warden, responded quickly to the scene.

The pilot on board was promptly extracted from the aircraft by rescue teams and transported to the hospital for medical examinations, after which he was quickly released. Despite the apparent severity of the incident and the large-scale deployment of emergency vehicles, site management confirmed that no other participants or spectators were endangered. The organizers of the show—which combines aerobatic displays, an LED light show, and a symphonic concert—decided to continue with the rest of the festivities: the second act of the orchestral performance thus proceeded as planned.

This historic aircraft boasts a prestigious aviation record, having won the MacRobertson Air Race in October 1934, flying from England to Australia in 70 hours and 55 minutes, making aviation history as the first modern British aircraft with a durable skin, cantilever wings, retractable landing gear, flaps, and variable-pitch propellers. Restored beginning in 1972 and returned to flight in 1987, the Grosvenor House is a cornerstone of the Shuttleworth collection, alongside the other remaining Comet, the Black Magic, which is currently undergoing restoration in the United Kingdom. For now, the future of G-ACSS and the possibility of repairing it remain uncertain.