The AeroMobil crashed at Nitra-Janíkovce airport (source: TASR)
Only one person suffered light injuries during the crash - the AeroMobil driver/pilot, the TASR newswire learnt from Nitra Firefighter and Emergency Corps spokesman Viliam Panský. According to eyewitnesses, the driver managed to parachute out of the vehicle but still required treatment by paramedics.
The Slovak AeroMobil company has been presenting its flying car of the same name at international expositions recently, raising considerable interest. The prototype road-worthy aircraft – a vehicle that can be converted from an automobile to an aircraft - was designed by Štefan Klein, who worked on the concept for more than a quarter century. Klein first flew the AeroMobil in 2013 and has been testing the capabilities of the flying car in the skies above Nitra almost daily since then. The first vehicle is planned to go on the market in 2017 – at a price comparable to luxury cars.
As a car, the AeroMobil fits into any standard parking space, uses regular petrol and can be used in road traffic like any other car. As an aircraft, it can take off from and land at any airport in the world, paved surfaces or even a grass strip a few hundreds metres long.
The pilot suffered no serious injuries. The unique flying car was piloted by its designer Štefan Klein, 54, who managed to walk away from the machine, complaining only about pain in his elbow and back. Klein underwent a thorough examination at the hospital in Nitra for potential internal injuries. Once released, he posted that he was unharmed on a social network website. According to eyewitnesses, the flying car fell from a height of approximately 300 metres, but Klein managed to activate a parachute that softened the impact.
In its statement, the AeroMobil company reported that the AeroMobil 3.0 prototype suffered only minor damage in the crash. “It’s still a prototype,“ TASR quoted the text. “We’re testing it and continuously improving it. This gave us an opportunity to test the safety parachute system, and it functions perfectly. The experience and data collected from this test flight will be evaluated and implemented in the further development of the flying car.”
AeroMobil flying (source: SITA)
