BROOKINGS – Three years ago, the commercial spacecraft SpaceShipTwo broke apart, killing a co-pilot and delaying Virgin Galatic’s effort to introduce commercial space travel.
The National Transportation Safety Board director who investigated the accident will speak at South Dakota State University at 5 p.m. Sept. 19, in the University Student Union’s Volstorff Ballroom. The talk is sponsored by the Joint Engineering Council, a student group, and the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering.
John DeLisi is director of the Office of Aviation Safety with the National Transportation Safety Board and has served with the NTSB since 1992.
His talk will provide an insider’s look at the NTSB investigation of the accident, which was attributed to pilot error.
The Oct. 31, 2014, crash was SpaceShipTwo’s fourth powered test flight. NTSB found that co-pilot Michael Alsbury unlocked the commercial space plane’s re-entry "feathering" system too early during a test flight over California’s Mojave Desert. Pilot Peter Siebold suffered serious injuries but survived when his seat was ejected from the spacecraft as it broke apart, allowing him to use a parachute.
NTSB investigators said the accident occurred when Alsbury unlocked SpaceShipTwo's novel tail-boom "feather" system too early, while the craft was flying at Mach 0.8 and not at Mach 1.4 as the original flight plan required. (Mach 1.0 is the speed of sound.)
During DeLisi’s career, he has been the on-scene investigator for 20 major aviation accidents, including the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River, and six international investigations. DeLisi also has written safety recommendations that led to improvements in the Airbus A320 and Boeing’s 737, 757 and 767.
There is no admission charge. Parking is available in the lot east of the University Student Union. For more information, call the Lohr College of Engineering at 605-688-4161.
