Boeing: Pin problem caused parachute issue in capsule test

In this image made from a video provided by NASA parachutes guide the Starliner capsule to the ground after a test of Boeing's crew capsule's launch abort system in White Sands Missile Range in N.M., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. The capsule carried no astronauts Monday morning, just a test dummy. (NASA via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing says a problem with a pin caused its Starliner capsule to land with two instead of three parachutes earlier this week.

The crew capsule underwent a safety test flight Monday, soaring nearly a mile into the New Mexico sky. Only two main parachutes deployed.

Boeing’s vice-president for commercial crew, John Mulholland, said Thursday that the rigging was not connected properly because the pin wasn’t secured in place.

Mulholland says the company is double-checking the parachute rigging on the capsule due to rocket into orbit next month. Only a dummy and some cargo will be on that test flight to the International Space Station.

NASA is counting on Boeing and SpaceX to start taking astronauts to the space station from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sometime next year.

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press