August 25, 2015 in airshows, death, Miscellaneous, spectator injury by Jerry H. Trachtman

Airshows: Spectators Beware?

Someone once said that flying, unlike the sea, is very unforgiving. The recent spate of UK airshow accidents, as well as some past US airshow accidents, demonstrates how true this is. Do such accidents suggest that airshows are an ultra- dangerous spectator event? The answer is no. Airshow pilots are

Posted on August 25, 2015

July 29, 2015 in NTSB, Spaceship 2, Virgin Galactic by Jerry H. Trachtman

NTSB: Lack of Consideration for Human Factors Led to In-Flight Breakup of SpaceShipTwo

NTSB: Lack of Consideration for Human Factors Led to In-Flight Breakup of SpaceShipTwo
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July 28, 2015
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board determined the cause of the Oct. 31, 2014 in-flight breakup of SpaceShipTwo, was Scaled Composite’s failure to consider and protect against human error and the co-pilot’s premature

Posted on July 29, 2015

November 12, 2014 in Blog by Jerry H. Trachtman

NTSB Update on Crash of Virgin Galactic SpaceShip Two

November 12, 2014

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board issued an investigative update today into the crash of SpaceShip Two on Oct. 31, 2014, in Mojave, Calif.

• The on-scene portion of the investigation into the crash of Virgin Galactic/Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo, a test flight conducted by Scaled Composites, has concluded and

Posted on November 12, 2014

November 1, 2014 in commercial spaceflight, Spaceship 2, Spaceship 2 accident, Virgin Galactic by Jerry H. Trachtman

Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 — Lessons To Be Learned

The recent destruction of Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship 2 is a tragedy, but should not come as a complete surprise.  Unfortunately, it was inevitable.  Development of a safe, reliable passenger carrying commercial spacecraft is an immensely difficult task.  NASA invested tens of billions of dollars and it took tens of thousands

Posted on November 1, 2014