Vertical Aerospace have had an accident with their test flight aircraft G-EVTL today.  Images online (example) show significant damage at their test base at Cotswold Airport in the UK with the aircraft coming to rest close to (or possibly in contact with) the resident feature Boeing 747 which was retired from British Airways service in 2020

The Vertical VX4 is reported to have been testing an unmanned inflight shutdown from 20ft AGL as part of its ongoing testing programme

This puts the company’s planned entry into service (EIS) date in 2026 into doubt

Bad news from@VerticalAero
at Cotswold Airport, where – according to an airfield source – the VX4 #evtol has crashed from approximately 20ft during an unmanned inflight shutdown as part of its ongoing testing programme. Significant structural damage shown in the image below: pic.twitter.com/C6OJzRVYAk

— Charlotte Bailey (@penandpaper1989) August 9, 2023

A further close-up image was published online by DroneDJ.com