The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have released their initial findings to the investigation of the crash of the Virgin ...
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have released their initial findings to the investigation of the crash of the Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo spaceplane on Oct 31.
The findings indicated that the lock/unlock lever was pulled prematurely based on recorded speed at the time, and they have suggested that subsequent aerodynamic forces then deployed the feathering mechanism, which resulted in the in-flight separation of the wings and vehicle.
The feathering mechanism, which is the unique technology that turns the wing booms into position for re-entry.
NTSB has also found that the copilot Michael Alsbury, who was in the right seat, was the one who moved the lock/unlock handle into the unlock position.
The tragic incident was a big blow to the fledging private space industry, that resulted in the death of Scaled Composites’ co-pilot Michael Alsbury and injuries to pilot Peter Siebold.
The NTSB investigation is still ongoing and no cause has yet been determined – these are purely facts based on initial findings.
The NTSB has recovered the intact engine and rocket propulsion fuel tanks with no signs of burn through or mid-air explosion, which dismisses the earlier speculation that the problem was related to the engine or the fuel.
