Virgin Galactic Statement on NTSB Report About SpaceShipTwo Crash
Richard Branson speaks to the press at the Mojave Air and Space Port about the crash off SpaceShipTwo. (Credit: Douglas Messier)
MOJAVE, Calif. (Virgin Galactic PR) — Today, a team of impartial experts at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded their thorough investigation of the in-flight breakup of SpaceShipTwo during a test flight on October 31, 2014. In a public hearing held at the NTSB’s headquarters in Washington, DC, the organization’s experts and board members discussed their findings from the investigation.
As our founder, Richard Branson, said: “While it is good to have passed this milestone and be able to focus on the future, we are acutely aware that it does not alter the fact that this was at heart a human tragedy. Our thoughts go out again today to the family, friends and colleagues of Mike Albsury [sic].”
Ultimately, the NTSB concluded that “the probable cause of this accident was [Virgin Galactic contractor] Scaled Composites’ failure to consider and protect against the possibility that a single human error could result in a catastrophic hazard to the SpaceShipTwo vehicle. This failure set the stage for the copilot’s premature unlocking of the feather system as a result of time pressure and vibration and loads that he had not recently experienced, which led to un-commanded feather extension and the subsequent aerodynamic overload and in-flight breakup of the vehicle.“
The NTSB also determined that there was “no evidence of any structural, system, or rocket motor failures” before the co-pilot’s premature unlocking of the feather system initiated the breakup. No members of the public were harmed in the accident, and there were no passengers nor customers onboard the vehicle.
Based on their findings, the NTSB has issued ten recommendations related to the accident. Eight of these recommendations were given to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, while two were for the commercial spaceflight industry in general. The NTSB issued no recommendations to Virgin Galactic nor to our sister company, TSC.
The full hearing webcast is expected to be posted online shortly–we will edit this post to provide a link as soon as it is available. Virgin Galactic’s extensive submission to the investigation can be freely downloaded here.
In his concluding remarks, NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart spoke eloquently about the future of the commercial spaceflight industry, noting the widely-held and longstanding desire for a commercial program that could allow space enthusiasts and professionals from around the world the opportunity to experience spaceflight. At Virgin Galactic, we are fully committed to realizing this dream. We are determined to learn and to improve as a result of this tragic accident. Already, we have taken important steps to prevent any such future occurrence, with particular focus on pilot training, crew resource management in flight, and the already-completed addition of a mechanical inhibit system that would prevent premature unlocking in the future.
Our thanks go out to the experts at the NTSB and to everyone who has supported and helped us in our journey to open space.
4 responses to “Virgin Galactic Statement on NTSB Report About SpaceShipTwo Crash”
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Beautifully spun, the NTSB probable cause focuses on Scaled, but the media have picked up VG’s press release that doesn’t print it, but leads on Finding 1 of copilot error.
http://www.theguardian.com/…
Virgin are a brand and that is all they care about. They will happily rubbish a dead man to manage their brand. I for one would not travel with this company, whether in a spaceship or on one of their overrated airliners.
Harsh words and uncalled for, Twizell. I’m no fan of either Branson or VG, but, what do you expect them to say? The co-pilot unlocked the feather at sub-sonic velocity against the instruction to only unlock at Mach 1.4. He paid the ultimate price for his mistake. Sure, Scaled Composits should have incorporated a velocity unlock inhibit system to prevent a single human error resulting in a catastrophic result. They didn’t and apparently now they have. I don’t blame either Branson or VG for this one on the evidence presented and neither should you.or anyone else, IMO.
Harsh to whom? They were spinning this angle months ago when the made their presentation to the NTSB in May. Now when the NTSB virtually removed the copilot from the probable cause (the chairman proposed he wasn’t mentioned at all and it took a 30+ minute adjournment to agree an amendment which mentioned him), VG still spin that the co-pilot was the main causative factor. I don’t understand why because VG got a pass in the NTSB findings. It wasn’t even necessary for them to continue to focus press attention on the man. I see this as disgraceful and cruel. If harshness is to be handed out, I would hand it out to the corporate interests rather than the man at the sharp end doing the tough job.
If you want to vent, then vent your wrath on Scaled Composits. Why didn’t they, when designing the controls, have an automatic (un)lock mechanism as a backup to the manual (un)lock mechanism? They would have known that it is a poor design indeed that would permit a catastrophic failure from a single (co)pilot decision/action. And, by the way, with regard to the co-pilot, how do you think he would feel if he was the one that survived and that the pilot didn’t. He would have that on his conscience for the rest of his life. It’s your lack of compassion that is on display here for all to see.