US EditionStarship Explosion Forces Jets to Dodge Debris, Prompts FAA Probe
The FAA investigation found three commercial flights with 450 passengers faced extreme safety risks from debris after a SpaceX Starship engine failure caused an explosion.
- Shortly after liftoff, SpaceX's Starship suffered a `rapid unscheduled disassembly`, forcing emergency evasive actions as the Federal Aviation Administration opened an inquiry.
- Earlier flight instability and rapid losses marked prior Starship attempts, with engines failing early in a March test causing a midair explosion and Elon Musk warning of initial 'teething pains'.
- Controllers first learned of falling fragments from pilot reports, and the FAA alleges SpaceX did not use the FAA emergency hotline as fiery debris fell across the Caribbean for about 50 minutes.
- Despite close encounters and diversions, all affected flights ultimately landed safely after two planes, including an Iberia Airlines flight and a private jet, declared fuel emergencies.
- SpaceX plans further Starship flights and a new, more powerful version next year as the FAA projects 200 to 400 launches annually, despite suspending its safety review in August.
46 Articles
46 Articles
An explosion of SpaceX's Starship rocket during a flight test in January placed at least three aircraft at extreme risk while flying over the Caribbean.This was revealed by a recent report by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to The Wall Street Journal.The incident occurred less than ten minutes after the launch of the seventh unmanned test flight of the Starship project, driven by the company founded by Elon Mus…
The explosion at the beginning of the flight put two commercial aircraft and one private aircraft, with a total of approximately 450 passengers, at risk for about an hour.
The documents also state that Space X did not immediately inform the explosion agency via the emergency telephone line used in these cases.
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