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Virgin Galactic Crash (What Happened (October 31st 2014, Space tourism…
Virgin Galactic Crash
What Happened
October 31st 2014
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic
Serious Accident occurred during a SpaceShipTwo test flight
Spacecraft was destroyed in accident
One Pilot Died
Other pilot was injured
co-pilot prematurely unlocked the re-entry feathering system
Issues/findings
Stressful environment
Pilots were under pressure to perform a series of tasks in quick succession by memory
If he didn't perform the tasks correctly the flight would have to be aborted
Simulator used to train pilots didn't replication vibrations and heavy g forces
Pilots did not train in full flight gear
Co-pilots mistake was not anticpated nor was it included in a hazard analysis
System relied on human skill rather than fail-safes
Design Failures + System Life Cycle
No mitigations were considered to prevent the feathering system from unlocking early
The system relied on human skill
Systems were manually operated, rather than computer operated
No fail-safes were in the design
Why it Happened
Co-pilot error
Co-pilot unlocked the re-entry feathering system to early
Hazard analysis did not include pilot-induced hazards
Failure of consideration that this pilot induced error could cause an accident
System + System Parts
Simple basic system
All human operated, not computer operated
Was built without the consideration of human error