Michael “Mad Mike” Hughes was killed in the crash of his homemade steam-powered rocket Saturday in California. It was the second launch for Hughes in his mission to prove the Earth is flat by eventually taking photos of the lack of curvature of the planet from space. Hughes, 64, launched from the desert northeast of Los Angeles about 2 p.m. and the flight lasted about 20 seconds when the rocket crashed nose first at high speed.
Mad Mike wasn’t a flat earther. He was just scamming flat earthers to fund his thrill seeking. His plan was to launch his steam powered rocket to some low-ish altitude then launch a balloon once the rocket reached its apex, and have the balloon take the photos.
There was no reason not to just launch the balloon from the ground, other than for Mad Mike to launch himself on his contraption as part of the ordeal.
The balloon and photos were just the hook to get money to fund his rocket escapade from the flat earth folks.
Science Channel better engage premier legal counsel to handle the liability they clearly have. This was a foolish stunt that they endorsed - in the quest for ratings. This was clearly a tragedy on many levels, and one that was completely avoidable.
Sad that the safety system failed, the most important part of any system involving humans is that the safety system works and has proved to work before a human gets involved.
Science Channel is deeply responsible for this crash, sincerely hope the guy has a widow who is going to sue them!
I don’t see Science Channel’s involvement in this incident other than following a story which fits the subject matter of their series. If they were smart, they approached it as reporting the news. If they offered to pay him or promised to pay him, things may be different.
What’s really sad is how many people across social media immediately call for lawyers to get involved. The guy was undertaking risky ventures of his own free will, much like early aviators. He was responsible for his own fate, and I suspect he wouldn’t have had it any other way. No wonder innovation in so many fields (notably aviation) has crawled to a standstill.
I read that he planned to launch a rocket from a balloon, but I’m curious about the balloon from rocket bit. I tried Googling it, but to no avail - can you provide links or cites or further info? Thanks.
“May” is indeed the operative word - their liability could be all over the place.
If they’d hired him as a test pilot for their in-house rocket program, then their liability should run deep. If they covered it in a such a fashion that they had no influence on the project, then their liability should be zero.
[BTW, I’m looking at ‘liability’ in an ethical, not necessarily legal, sense.]
But suppose they offer to sponsor an existing rocketry program? This was his second proven flight, and his claim of an earlier one sounds credible. He was already committed to continuing his efforts. Sponsoring him wouldn’t cause the crash, it would only speed up his timetable. If anything, extra funds should ease the need to cut corners, increasing his safety. In my book, they’s still be morally off the hook
Russ, categorizing this particular rocket crash as an aviation story is a stretch. It’s no more of an aviation story than was Evel Knievel’s motorcycle jumps over busses.
No, not even close to orbital. His goal was the Karman line, and that was to be via a rockoon. The steam powered flights were to get interest and funding.
