Kermas Sub-Orbital Space Tourism Vehicle :: Fully Recoverable Boosters

Spacecraft Accident Report

Investigation page 8

To avoid eroding the runway and the land that surround it, as well to prevent damages on the spacecraft itself due debris, the Pilots were severally instructed to do not fire the main boosters before flying over the sea - being the reason the Pilot choose to do not use them when the emergency arose. The likelihood of getting debris being inhaled by the jet or damaging the fragile cryotanks near the combustion chamber were considered too high and more dangerous than a crash.

So for 9 seconds the Pilot skilfully managed to keep the spacecraft on a fragile equilibrium, trying to learn in situ how the spacecraft behaves while trying to avoid losing too much altitude. By the time the Pilot was reaching the controls to ignite the rockets, the VMC was reached and spacecraft tumbled to the left, starting a rapid, but short, dive into the oceans.

Given the terrible low altitude and the nature of the soil under the spacecraft at the moment, this investigative board condone the Pilot's decision of delaying firing them until over water.

On the other hand, it's consensus on the board that ejecting at least the outer fuel tanks would be enough to retake the control of the spacecraft for time enough to allow the use of the booster's rockets, salvaging the situation.

However, besides the likelihood of a emergency while taking off, the Abort System was locked for an emergency while climbing to Space with all boosters ignited - situation in which the rocket engines must be shutdown on ejecting while firing up the Sepratron for obvious reasons.

This renders the action fruitless to the presented emergency, as there would be no time to manually eject only part of the attachments and fire the rockets in time of being useful.

The Pilots stated, and the board's further investigation confirmed, that ejecting all the attachments while diving (and with Sepratons lightened up) using the present Abort System configuration would likely make them colide with and explode the wings, eliminating the last vestiges of control still available to the Pilot.

The board concludes that the inadequate Abort System was the fourth and final event that leaded to the sinister. From this point, the disaster was unavoidable.

Transcription from the flight recorder:

T+0y,0d,00:01:10 Pilot Dioly Kerman: __ She's weird, she's weird...

T+0y,0d,00:01:11 Pilot Dioly Kerman: __ "This is the Captain. Prepare for crash-landing, prepare for crash-landing! Heads down! Grab ankles! Stay down!" (on the intercom)

T+0y,0d,00:01:12 Copilot Leadrin Kerman: __ We're sinking at 1 meter/second. We're still over terrain, I can see our shadows on the ground approaching.

T+0y,0d,00:01:14 Pilot Dioly Kerman: __ I think I'm getting her back... NO THAT HIGH, DAMN IT, NOT THAT HIGH, YOU SISTER OF A OSTRICH...

T+0y,0d,00:01:19 Pilot Dioly Kerman: __ I LOST HER. CALL BRACE!

T+0y,0d,00:01:20 Copilot Leadrin Kerman: __ "BRACE! BRACE FOR INPACT! BRACE!" (on the intercom)

T+0y,0d,00:01:21 Copilot Leadrin Kerman: __ "IMPACT IN 3... 2..." (on the intercom)