Y1:D166 – A second test flight was attempted today at KSC for the A1 aeroplane.

Under a partly cloudy sky the plane, piloted by Valentina Kerman took to the skies and completed numerous maneuvers overhead. In fact the plane flew flawlessly under her command.

The landing however was not so flawless. While Valentina correctly and competently guided the craft in for a touch down on the center’s dusty runway, disaster struck a fraction of a second after touchdown.

As the plane began to roll down the dirt strip, the left front wheel hit a gopher hole flipping the aircraft violently down on its nose. It then cartwheeled before exploding in a shower of debris.

Valentina escaped unharmed, but officials have suspended air experiments until improvements can be made in the runway surface.

This will undoubtedly take the form of a paved surface, like those of the roadways used to access the center.

Critics maintain that the aeronautics division remains greatly underfunded and claim such work should have been done before even attempting such experiments.