FAA investigates Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic over flight 'deviation' and launches SpaceShipTwo aircraft

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has prevented billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic from flying its SpaceShipTwo aircraft until the agency completed an investigation into its flight last month.

The government agency’s investigation relates to a deviation in the descent of a Virgin Galactic rocket plane that brought Branson and others to the edge of space on July 11th.

During Virgin Galactic’s first fully occupied test spaceflight ignited safety warnings in the cockpit, forcing the aircraft to change course for a short period of time. The problem led to a shocking landing at the Spaceport America launch site, which was leased by the company in New Mexico.

The FAA study of this discrepancy is “current." Problems with the flight were first reported by the New Yorker, but Virgin Galactic has blown up this report and the notion that they put Branson or the five others on board - including two pilots - in any danger.

“We dispute the descriptions and conclusions in the New Yorker article," said the company in a statement to AFP.

Great heights blew behind the deviation, the company claims, and their pilots responded appropriately to the situation.

“Although the last route deviated from our original plan, it was a deliberate and controlled flight path," they said.

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