Two pilots were killed in a crash involving the Siemens-powered Magnus eFusion electric aircraft on Thursday morning in Hungary, local police reported. The aircraft was reportedly flown after a party to celebrate the new company headquarters. Neither pilot has been identified, but one, a 61-year-old, was believed to be part of Magnus Aircraft.
Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft maneuvering at low altitude before catching fire and crashing in a near vertical dive. The impact in a corn field approximately a mile from the Pecs-Pogany Airport (LHPP) caused a fire. “The electric aircraft took off at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT), went on two laps [around the pattern] and then crashed for unknown reasons,” county police spokesman Dejan Popovics told the Hungarian news agency MTI.
The aircraft, produced in collaboration between Siemens and Magnus Aircraft, had completed its first flight in April of 2016. At AERO Friedrichshafen, the company had announced a base price of 200,000 Euros and offered deliveries as an experimental aircraft.
A public relations person of Siemens acknowledged the crash with the German publication Aerokurier; however, Magnus Aircraft could not be reached for comment on Friday.
