Historic DH.88 Comet overturns on landing at Shuttleworth air show

A vintage de Havilland DH.88 Comet, registration G-ACSS and named Grosvenor House, flipped over while landing at Old Warden aerodrome in Bedfordshire on August 15, 2026. The Shuttleworth Trust, which operates the aircraft, said the accident happened around 19:20 local time during its Flying Proms evening show.

Only the pilot was on board. Emergency crews freed the pilot from the wreckage and took them to hospital as a precaution; the Trust later said the pilot had been discharged. No one else was hurt.

The Trust said the aircraft suffered extensive damage, though it has not detailed the precise extent. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch had not commented publicly at the time this was reported.

The Comet holds particular significance in aviation history. It was one of three DH.88s built for the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia, and this example, flown by Charles W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black, won the speed section, completing the Mildenhall to Melbourne route in just under 71 hours. Only two DH.88s survive today. Until this accident, G-ACSS was the sole airworthy example still flying.

The type combined several advanced features for its era in one airframe, including stressed-skin construction, a cantilever wing, retractable undercarriage, flaps and variable-pitch propellers. Design lessons from its wooden high-speed construction later fed into development of the de Havilland Mosquito. The airframe has reportedly been rebuilt multiple times over its history following earlier damage.