The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday it is investigating a deviation in the descent of the flight of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane that carried British billionaire Richard Branson to the edge of space on July 11.
The New Yorker magazine earlier reported that the regulator was investigating an off-course descent. An FAA spokesman told Reuters the vehicle “deviated from its Air Traffic Control clearance as it returned to Spaceport America. The FAA investigation is ongoing.”
Virgin Galactic acknowledged in a statement to Reuters that “the flight’s ultimate trajectory deviated from our initial plan” but added it “did not fly outside of the lateral confines of the protected airspace.”
