When Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo broke apart shortly after breaking the sound barrier last week, it was unimaginable that either pilot would somehow escape the wreckage. Peter Siebold and Michael Alsbury were both still strapped into their seats as the rocket disintegrated around them. Siebold somehow managed to eject from the ship and basically had to run on instincts to get himself back on solid ground.
The Los Angeles Times breaks down exactly what Siebold was up against and how amazing it is that he survived rather than die, as Alsbury did. First we need to understand that these men could have been as high as an estimated 50,000 feet above Earth when things turned bad. That means that when Siebold began his fall his body was tumbling through temperatures of around 70 degrees below zero and the air is so thin he likely was unable to either inhale or exhale. Siebold also was not wearing a space suit to protect him from the lethal conditions.
Bob Hoover is a 92-year-old former test pilot who survived numerous crashes in his time. Perhaps few know better than Hoover exactly what Seibold was facing on his way down to the ground.
"It is a miracle he got out. At 50,000 feet, your survival time is very limited, and for him to pull the rip cord in those conditions is pretty surprising. I am so happy for him," he said.
Investigators have yet to interview Seibold, who was finally released from the hospital Monday afternoon, Nov. 3. They seem to believe he did not pull his rip cord on his parachute until he reached about 20,000 feet. Instead he likely allowed himself to fall faster for several miles in order to escape the grave conditions that much faster. That decision may well be what ultimately saved Seibold's life.
