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NTSB Report
October 31, 2014 · Scaled Composites 339 · N339SS
Koehn Dry Lake, CA
Overview
Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
October 31, 2014
Injury Outcomes
2 injuries (1 fatality, 1 serious injury)
Location
Koehn Dry Lake, CA
Aircraft
Scaled Composites 339 (2010)
Tail Number
N339SS
Operator
Scaled Composites
Injuries
Fatal
Aircraft Damage
Destroyed
NTSB Number
DCA15MA019
NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aerospace accident report. The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aerospace Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-15/02. On October 31, 2014, at 1007:32 Pacific daylight time, the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) reusable suborbital rocket, N339SS, operated by Scaled Composites LLC (Scaled), broke up into multiple pieces during a rocket-powered test flight and impacted terrain over a 5-mile area near Koehn Dry Lake, California. The pilot received serious injuries, and the copilot received fatal injuries. SS2 was destroyed, and no one on the ground was injured as a result of the falling debris. SS2 had been released from its launch vehicle, WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), N348MS, about 13 seconds before the structural breakup. Scaled was operating SS2 under an experimental permit issued by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) according to the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 437.
NTSB Probable Cause
Scaled Composites' failure to consider and protect against the possibility that a single human error could result in a catastrophic hazard to the SpaceShipTwo vehicle. This failure set the stage for the copilot's premature unlocking of the feather system as a result of time pressure and vibration and loads that he had not recently experienced, which led to uncommanded feather extension and the subsequent aerodynamic overload and in-flight breakup of the vehicle.
Full Narrative
NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aerospace accident report. The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aerospace Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-15/02. On October 31, 2014, at 1007:32 Pacific daylight time, the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) reusable suborbital rocket, N339SS, operated by Scaled Composites LLC (Scaled), broke up into multiple pieces during a rocket-powered test flight and impacted terrain over a 5-mile area near Koehn Dry Lake, California. The pilot received serious injuries, and the copilot received fatal injuries. SS2 was destroyed, and no one on the ground was injured as a result of the falling debris. SS2 had been released from its launch vehicle, WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), N348MS, about 13 seconds before the structural breakup. Scaled was operating SS2 under an experimental permit issued by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) according to the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 437.
Flight
Event TypeAccident
Event Time10:07 PDT
Nearest Airport0nm
Flight Plan FiledCvfr
Flight Plan ActivatedNo
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo
Aircraft
AircraftScaled Composites 339
Tail NumberN339SS
Aircraft CategoryRckt
DamageDestroyed
OperatorScaled Composites
Operating RulePart 437
Engines1
Engine TypeHr
Engine DetailsScaled Composites · RM2-20A001 · Hr · 60000
Seats+ 2
People & Injuries
Injury Summary2 injuries (1 fatality, 1 serious injury)
Fatal1
Serious1
Minor0
Uninjured0
Total2
Crew 1Age 43 · Second Class · Serious
Crew 2Age 39 · Second Class · Fatal
Conditions
ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
WindCalm
CeilingNone
Temperature / Dew Point0 C / 0 C
Altimeter0