'Something had gone seriously wrong': pilot remembers fatal Virgin Galactic crash

The first paying space tourists should have blasted off seven years ago, but the Virgin Galactic service was delayed and then last year it suffered a major setback when its spaceship crashed during a test flight over the Mojave desert.

A rocket science safety expert has said Virgin Galactic "ignored" safety warnings for years. (AAP) Source: KABC TV

One of the pilots involved in the crash has spoken about the tragic accident for the first time.

Virgin Galactic's chief pilot, Dave Mackay told the BBC he knew immediately the spacecraft was in trouble.

"We were listening out on the radio and it became apparent fairly early that something had gone seriously wrong," he said.

Mr Mackay was flying the ship that had released the Virgin Galactic rocket plane about 50,000 feet above the ground before the aircraft broke apart mid-air over the Mojave desert in California.

"We didn't see anything," he said.

"We launch the spaceship and it drops below us several hundred feet before it ignites the rocket motor."

"When it was apparent the wreckage had hit the ground, we descended to try to give some support in any way we could. Which involved, basically, finding out where the vehicle was and finding out where the survivor was and relaying that position back to emergency services."

A final report into the accident is due to be released later this year.

Initial reports suggest the co-pilot, Mike Alsbury, pulled a lever too soon, causing the spaceship to deploy prematurely.

Pilot, Peter Siebold survived the crash, but Mike Alsbury was killed.

Virgin is now building a new spaceship to improve the safety of the craft, and prevent a repeat of last year's fatal accident.