Tehachapi News

Hundreds evacuated safety, watch video of tent collapse

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The Kern County Fire Department and the management of the Mojave Air and Space Port averted a major disaster and doubtless saved lives Dec. 7 at Virgin Galactic's splashy rollout of SpaceShipTwo when they ordered the evacuation of a massive temporary structure 36 minutes before high winds destroyed it.

Wind gusts recorded at the airport in excess of 62 knots (71 mph) collapsed the 80 x 160-foot metal-frame tent that served as a press conference room and hospitality lounge for 800 guests and media.

With service personnel, 1,000 visitors were at airport for the event, thrown by Virgin Galactic's founder Richard Branson.

Mojave-based Scaled Composites company designed and built the space vehicle.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico were at the event but left before the evacuation  -- in Richardson's case, just minutes before the evacuation was ordered.

The evacuation began at 7:36 p.m. and the tent collapsed at 8:12:34 p.m., according Kern County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Cody and Mojave Air and Space Port Manager Stuart Witt.

It took less than 30 minutes to evacuate the approximately 600 to 800 people, Airport Operations Director Bob Rice said.

"The initial push to get people out took six minutes," Witt said. 

Sweeps to find possible stragglers followed the initial movement, he said.

Authorities had cleared everyone out of the tent and surrounding area when the wind delivered its final blow, ripping the beams and flattening the structure as if it had been hit by a tornado.

Two inflatable domed hospitality buildings also fell victim to the tempest.

“They saw something coming,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Smith, who assisted in the evacuation. “They made the right call.”

Public safety agencies attended safety meetings with airport management “every week” for several months in the run-up to the event, Smith said.

Witt said that detailed planning and the collective experience of those charged with safety saved lives that night.

“We have no crystal ball,” he said.

Witt, who spoke briefly at the SpaceShipTwo rollout press conference, spent the day monitoring five wind gauges and the progress of a weather front.

He detected a significant change in wind behavior that spelled trouble.

Prior to the change in measurements, the wind readings at the airport had been constant, he said.

Also at that time, observers saw the wind lift one end of the big tent off the ground.

Witt, Cody, Assistant Fire Marshall Don Napier and Rice - in different locations but connected by radio - concluded that it was time to close the party down and get everyone out.

‘Please go to buses’
“At 7:36 p.m. we asked Virgin Galactic's event management firm to evacuate the structure and two inflatable tents. That was accomplished in an orderly manner," Witt said in a press release.

"Hundreds of attendees were loaded on buses and the structures were empty when the building collapsed,” Witt said. “As a result, no one was injured.”

Cody said the guests were advised by way of the public address system, “Ladies and gentlemen, we need to evacuate the tents. Please go to the buses.”

The Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites press conference and elaborately staged rollout had ended by 7 p.m. and many of the guests, SpaceShipTwo ticket-holders (at $200,000 a pop) and media from all over the world were on the premises when the call was made to evacuate.

Cody said the PA announcement was made five or six times before everyone was headed out the door. Guests were enjoying the music and the “ice bar” where drinks were served in glasses made of ice.

“It was a party,” Cody said.

Airport security and management personnel, fire marshals, Sheriff's Deputies and California Highway Patrol Officers made three sweeps of all the structures to be sure no one was left behind.

Smith said when he was inside the big tent with Napier checking for people, “It was buckling and lifting on one side, and the west side of the tent had tears in it. Debris was flying across the area.”

He said that some people who had personal items and backpacks in one temporary dome structure wanted to collect their belongings.

“Firemen were grabbing people,” Smith said.

Dramatic rollout
The icy winds, floating theme music, blue lights and sweeping spotlights added drama to the rollout of SpaceShipTwo, the first commercial aircraft designed to take paying customers into space. Its dual-fuselage mothership White Knight Two (named Eve after Branson's mother) debuted at the Nov. 17 Edwards Air Force Base air show.

The vehicles are designed, built and tested by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, which is based at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

Many of the Scaled Composites team live in Tehachapi, including Director of Flight Operations Peter Siebold; Mothership Eve Project Engineer Bob Morgan; Avionics Project Engineer Peter Kalogiannis; Rocket Propulsion Project Engineer Marc Zeitlin; SS2 Head of Structures Engineering Scot Storey; and SS2 Project Engineer Jim Tighe.

Airport Manager Witt said he has asked the Kern County Board of Supervisors to commend Cody and Napier “for taking a calm, steady hand during the event, attending and participating in our briefings, participating in an evacuation drill and planning, and as a result we were able to do exactly what was asked for by the fire department.”