UPDATED 1:55pm EDT November 1, 2014
In a statement to the press this morning, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson described this as, “a very tough time for all of us at Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company, and Scaled Composites.” He also said that “our thoughts remain with the families of the brave Scaled pilots, and all of those affected by this tragedy.” The uncharacteristically humble Branson noted that, “this is the biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history, precisely to ensure that this never happens to the public.”
The fatally injured Scaled Composites test pilot has been identified by a friend of his family as Michael Alsbury. The identity of the pilot who was seriously injured in the breakup and crash has not yet been released.
Meanwhile, an investigative team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has arrived in Mojave. Commercial space travel of this type is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and accidents are investigated by the NTSB. This is in contrast to the programs from vendors such as Orbital Sciences and Space X, which are under contract with NASA and subject to that agency’s oversight. The NTSB’s investigation is being headed by Lead Investigator Lorenda Ward. Ms. Ward previously led the investigation into the crash of Colgan Flight 3407 in Buffalo, NY.
UPDATED 3:03pm EDT
Virgin Galactic has reported via Twitter that their Spaceship Two aircraft crashed during a test flight today.
During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo. WK2 landed safely. (2 of 4)
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 31, 2014
Space Blogger ParabolicArc.com was present during the test, and reports on Twitter that Spaceship Two “had trouble with engine burn, blew up, came down in pieces near Koehn Lake.” They also say they have witnessed one part of the debris field which includes a body still in a seat.
California Highway Patrol has reported that there was one fatality and one seriously injured in the crash.
Back in Mojave now. Ss2 had trouble with engine burn, blew up, came down in pieces near Koehn Lake.
— Parabolicarc.com (@spacecom) October 31, 2014
Spaceship Two was on its fourth powered test flight overall, the second this year, and the first using “Thermoplastic Polyamide” as the solid fuel.
White Knight Two, the delivery vehicle that launches Spaceship Two from the air, departed Mojave at 9:19am PDT. The White Knight Two aircraft has landed safely.
Virgin Galactic says they will hold a press conference at 2:00pm PDT/5:00pm EDT.
DEVELOPING….