Branson angry over Galactic speculation
Sir Richard Branson has hit out at the British media and ‘self-proclaimed’ experts following the Virgin Galactic crash on Friday, which killed one of the pilots on board.
He blasted some of Britain’s Sunday newspapers for getting it ‘horribly wrong’ by publishing articles about ‘exploding fuel tanks and engines’, saying there was no evidence of any explosion.
In an interview with Channel 4 news last night, he clashed with news reporter John Snow, saying: "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 Snow questioned why Virgin does not share its findings with the rest of the scientific community, Branson 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.”
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spacecraft broke up in flight and crashed in California’s Mojave Desert, killing co-pilot Michael Tyner Alsbury, 39, and seriously injuring pilot Peter Siebold, 43.
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation into the incident but said there were still a lot of ‘unknowns’.
The NTSB said the investigation could take as long as 12 months, but Branson said he was confident it would be concluded earlier.
A Virgin Galactic statement said the NTSB had recovered the intact engine and rocket propulsion fuel tanks with no signs of burn through or mid-air explosion.
"This definitively dismisses the premature and inaccurate speculation that the problem was related to the engine or the fuel," it said.
The statement added: "While this has been a tragic setback, we are moving forward and will do so deliberately and with determination."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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