A prototype flying car recently crash-landed at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Mich., a small town just outside of Ann Arbor.
Engineer Sanjay Dhall created Detroit Flying Cars to build a flying car in Detroit ... well, the Detroit area, which sometimes seem to span the entire state. He’s building the WD-1, experimental hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that crashed during a test run. Dhall was injured but survived the crash after it accidentally lifted off during a taxi text. How do you accidentally lift off?
The FAA is investigating the incident, but according to Dhall's business partner David Han, the craft had already survived two other test runs. During this one, in particular, the front two wheels were supposed to come off the ground, but the entire vehicle accidentally took flight. Feels like that should be in the gauges: don’t fly.
Despite the setback, and the fact that several other flying car prototype pilots have had similar (and much more tragic) accidents in the past, the project will go on and the team plans to make improvements for future iterations and upcoming test flights.
