Virgin Galactic pilot survived 16 kilometre fall

Aircraft industry figures have spoken of their amazement that a co-pilot survived the crash of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane that tragically claimed the life of 39-year-old Michael Alsbury last week.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Peter Siebold was more than 16 kilometres above the earth when SpaceShipTwo began disintergrating, forcing him to eject.

Siebold was wearing a parachute but no spacesuit as he plummeted from nearly twice the height of Mount Everest in temperatures 70 degrees below zero.

Incredibly his most serious injury was a broken shoulder and he has already left hospital.

Exactly when Siebold pulled his rip cord is unknown. He may have fallen freely for kilometres to exit the cold as fast as possible

Veteran test pilot Paul Tackabury told the LA Times the fact Siebold survived at all was amazing.

"You don't just jump out of aircraft at Mach 1 at over 50,000 feet without a spacesuit," he said.

92-year-old test pilot Bob Hoover survived five crashes and told the Times that at altitude the air was so thin it was almost impossible to breathe.

"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" Mr Hoover said.

Photographer and engineer Ken Brown was hired to take pictures of the doomed flight and he told the Times SpaceShipTwo was in pieces in a few moments.

"Peter is a lucky guy," he said.

"The vehicle disintegrated around him. He would have found himself falling."