Debris from Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo
sits in a desert field north of Mojave on Nov. 2, 2014. The spacecraft
crashed Oct. 31 during a test flight, killing one pilot and seriously
injuring another. (Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
Posted July 28, 2015, by CNN Wire
Human error was responsible for the catastrophic 2014 crash of an experimental Virgin Galactic rocket ship.
Specifically, the “probable cause” of the crash was the “copilot’s
unlocking of SpaceShipTwo’s feather locks,” according to a report from
the National Transportation Safety Board. The feather locks are
essentially a braking system designed to allow the rocket to safely
descend from space.
The NTSB said that the pilots were inadequately trained to handle
problems related to the feather lock system. It was also revealed that
the system didn’t have a mechanism to prevent the system from
prematurely deploying, minimizing the potential for pilot error.
The agency conducted a nine-month investigation into the October 31
crash of the scaled composite SpaceShipTwo in Mojave, Calif. The crash
left the Virgin Galactic co-pilot dead and the pilot badly injured.
Federal investigators previously determined that the test co-pilot
who was killed, Michael Alsbury, manually unlocked a movable tail
section.
“We cannot undo what happened, but it is our hope that through this
investigation we will find ways to prevent this from happening again,”
NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said during the hearing. “We are not a
regulator and have no power to require changes. We make safety
recommendations, which if acted upon can help prevent recurrences.”