VSS Enterprise crash
Inflight break-up of VSS Enterprise / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about VSS Enterprise crash?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The VSS Enterprise crash occurred on October 31, 2014, when the VSS Enterprise, a SpaceShipTwo experimental spaceflight test vehicle operated by Virgin Galactic, suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup during a test flight and crashed in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California.[1][2] Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed and pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured.
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | October 31, 2014 (2014-10-31) |
Summary | In-flight break-up caused by design flaw and pilot error |
Site | Mojave Desert, California, United States |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo |
Aircraft name | VSS Enterprise |
Operator | Virgin Galactic |
Registration | N339SS |
Flight origin | Mojave Air and Space Port, California, United States |
Destination | Mojave Air and Space Port |
Occupants | 2 |
Crew | 2 |
Fatalities | 1 |
Injuries | 1 |
Survivors | 1 |
The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that the breakup was caused by Alsbury's premature unlocking of the air brake device used for atmospheric re-entry. The NTSB said other important factors in the accident were inadequate design safeguards, poor pilot training and lack of rigorous oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).[3]