SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) has found [ntsb.gov] that a mix of pilot error and design flaws [npr.org] led to the crash of SpaceShipTwo last year:

The crash of a Virgin Galactic spaceship last fall in California's Mojave Desert was caused by pilot error and design problems, the National Transportation and Safety Board announced Tuesday after a nine-month investigation.

NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports the NTSB found that SpaceShipTwo broke apart during a test flight on Oct. 31 because the co-pilot prematurely unlocked a section of the space plane's tail used in braking. The pilot survived, but the co-pilot, Michael Alsbury, was killed.

"But investigators found that SpaceShipTwo's design was also to blame. NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt says proper safeguards to prevent such human error weren't in place," Geoff says.

Detailed summary [wired.com] at Wired. Richard Branson's statement [youtube.com] [video] in response.

Original Submission