image: NTSB
NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher Hart gave his final briefing from Mojave on Monday evening, and provided a timeline for events leading up to Friday’s fatal accident during a Virgin Galactic test flight. Hart said telemetry data shows the spaceship was released from WhiteKnightTwo at 10:07:19 local time, Friday morning. At 10:07:21, the engine started on the spaceship; at 29 seconds, it had reached 0.94 Mach, and at 31 seconds, the speed was 1.02 Mach. At that point, the copilot moved the feather control from locked to unlocked. A second step, to engage the feather, was not taken, Hart said, but the feather began to deploy, and at 34 seconds, the telemetry stops. The plan for the flight had indicated the feather should be unlocked at Mach 1.4, Hart said. The on-scene investigation will continue for a few more days, Hart said. Clean-up continues, and parts from the spaceship have been found as far as 35 miles away from the main crash site.
Hart also said the NTSB has formed a new Human Performance Group for this investigation to look at issues relating to the interface between the flight crew and the vehicle, such as displays and checklists. Copilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the accident. Pilot Peter Siebold is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries and has not yet been interviewed by investigators. Hart said the investigation into the crash may proceed faster than usual, due to the “rich data sources” available, including in-cockpit video, but the full report still may take up to a year.
