Richard Branson condemns “speculation by self-proclaimed experts” about the Virgin Galactic crash and tells Jon Snow: “I have no respect for you at all over the way you’re conducting this interview.”
Sir Richard spoke to Channel 4 News on Monday as an initial investigation found a safety device had been deployed too early before Friday’s crash, which killed one pilot and seriously injured another.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that seconds before the crash, the spaceship’s “feathering” system – which lifts and rotates the tail to create drag – was activated before the aircraft reached the appropriate speed.
Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder told Channel 4 News he was not impressed with the British press’ reporting of the incident over the weekend, and said that the preliminary investigation by the NTSB had proved them wrong.
“They’ve (the NTSB) ruled out a lot of the very British speculation by self-proclaimed experts over the weekend, in saying that the fuel tanks, the engine were all intact, and that there was no explosion, and they will come out with more findings in the next couple of days,” he said.
A full and thorough investigation is underway and experts have not ruled out the further possibility of pilot error on board SpaceShipTwo , which crashed in the Mojave Desert in California on Friday, killing co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39.
British rocket scientist Geoff Daly had raised concerns about the safety of Virgin Galactic’s mission with the American Federal Aviation Authority via email. But Sir Richard dismissed them:
“We have 400 of the best engineers in the world, working for Virgin Galactic,” he said. “If somebody was to send us an email saying that they think we should be going in a different direction, I’m sure our engineers would look at it – they would either dismiss it, or they would take note.”
He continued: “I find it very insulting – the whole tone of your questions, and all I can say is that it is absolutely clear – and the NTSB have made it absolutely clear – that there have been no fault with fuel tanks, no fault with the engines, whatsoever.”
When asked about rumours that Virgin Galactic had a secretive culture, which runs contrary to the wider ethos of the space exploration community, he said: “I just can’t quite believe your questioning. I respect you enormously normally, I have no respect for you at all for the way you’re conducting this interview. But anyway, I’ll answer your questions – Virgin Galactic is at the cutting edge of space. We’re not going to open our books to our rivals.
“Most sensible commentators believe we are ahead of the pack in terms of taking people into space.”