1 June 2026
Shuttleworth’s Avro Triplane replica
A pilot escaped serious injury after an Avro Triplane IV replica crashed during the Shuttleworth Wings and Wheels Air Show at Old Warden on Saturday evening.
The incident occurred at the south end of the airfield during the event’s evening flying programme. The aircraft, a replica of the pioneering 1910 Avro Triplane IV, came to rest in a tree in Old Warden Park after the accident.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service reported the pilot was trapped around 15 metres above the ground in the aircraft and required a complex rescue operation conducted in darkness.
Shuttleworth confirmed that the accident involved a single pilot and one of its aircraft. Witnesses reported that the pilot gave a thumbs-up after being extracted from the wreckage before being taken to hospital for assessment.
In an update released on Sunday, Shuttleworth said the pilot had been discharged from medical care and had returned home “in good spirits”.
Matthew Ockenden, Station Commander with Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, described the operation as “a challenging rescue crews had to carry out in the dark, factoring in a number of complexities”.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has launched an investigation into the accident. An AAIB spokesperson said a team had been deployed to Old Warden to examine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The aircraft involved is a replica of the Avro Triplane IV, one of the earliest British aircraft designs created by aviation pioneer A.V. Roe. The Shuttleworth example was originally built for the 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines before joining the collection in 1966.
Powered by a four-cylinder ADC Cirrus III engine and with a maximum speed of just 45mph, the aircraft is one of the most distinctive exhibits in the Shuttleworth Collection and is normally flown only in calm weather conditions.
As a result of the incident, Shuttleworth remained closed on Sunday while recovery and site restoration work was completed. The organisation said it would reopen on Monday.
The Shuttleworth Collection has been staging flying displays for more than 60 years and is renowned for operating one of the world’s finest collections of airworthy vintage aircraft.
Following the recent incident at our Wings & Wheels Air Show (30.05.2026) we can confirm that the pilot in question was discharged from medical care and our site has now fully reopened. pic.twitter.com/5gXbAW68Jr
— Shuttleworth (@ShuttleworthTru) June 2, 2026
