KENENDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Only July 1, a very particular car crashed in a very particular way, in a very particular place.
Through a public records request fulfilled by Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency, News 6 learned the car that crashed was Hennessey Venom F5 – one of the fastest cars in the world under development to attempt to break 300 mph.
The Venom F5 is the latest creation from legendary vehicle tuner John Hennessey, CEO and founder of Hennessey Special Vehicles. It’s not even a supercar – it’s a $3 million hypercar.
[LEARN: What exactly is a hypercar? | PINIT! Share your photos]
It crashed doing “straight line testing” on the old Space Shuttle runway, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). It’s now known as the Launch and Landing Facility (LLF), which, through Space Florida, has been opened to the public for vehicle testing - if approved by Space Florida.
The hypercar landed upside down on the LLF, hitting the concrete hard enough to cause minor damage and a small repair bill to Team Hennessey. The driver walked away from the crash.
How fast was the Venom F5 going at the time?
The eight documents News 6 received from Space Florida, including the 30-page contract provided to the runway rental contractor, Space Coast Testing, were heavily redacted, including specific details of the crash and pictures of the wreck.
Space Florida Director of Public Relations, Alayna Curry, said the documents contained “trade secrets.”
“Documents related to this incident include redactions that are considered proprietary business information per Florida statue 288.075,” Curry said. “Per Florida statutes 812.081 and 688.002, photos and videos are considered trade secrets and are exempt from public records laws.”
In 2022, a viral Youtube video showed the Venom F5 hit 271 MPH on the LLF.
Five days after the wreck, John Hennessey wrote in an Instagram post the Venom F5 was on its way to 250 MPH when the driver lost control.
“The prototype Venom F5 performed strongly accelerating from 0-250 mph in just under 4,000 ft. when the vehicle lost downforce on the runway causing the driver to lose control,” Hennessey wrote. “Most importantly, our test driver walked away from the incident without injury.”
Hennessey said his team was testing “testing a new experimental aerodynamic set up on our factory-owned Venom F5 prototype at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).”
The LLF is one of the few places in the world long enough, straight enough and flat enough that a driver even try hitting 271 MPH.
It’s 15,000 feet long with 1,000 feet overruns on each end. That’s a 3-mile straightaway. The concrete is grooved for water runoff and traction.
The longest runway at the Orlando International Airport (MCO) is 12,000 feet or 2.3 miles.
The Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB) has a 2-mile runway at 11,000 feet long.
In 2019, paying homage to an astronaut tradition, News 6 Anchor Matt Austin drove a Corvette down the LLF to report on the rebirth of the old Shuttle runway as a testing facility and launch and landing strip for commercial aerospace and vehicles.
According to the runway rental contract, the LLF leases for $2,200 for a four-hour period, plus additional expenses.
To view the rental agreement between Space Florida and Space Coast Tenting, LLC, click here.
Who is allowed to rent it and what happens when something goes wrong, like it did on July 1?
The man who was running the runway in 2019, James Moffat, told News 6, “We have more than enough space to handle pretty much anything that is existing in the world today.”
But the Venom F5 isn’t just any car, it’s an 1,817 horsepower carbon-fiber rocket of a race car.
Hennessey handcrafts the hypercar in Texas with a 6.6 liter twin-turbo V8 and an interior “designed to evoke the spirit of fast aircraft cockpits.” According to the website, the coupe is already “sold out.”
In an email from Space Florida’s Spaceport Manager to staff on the afternoon of July 1 several hours after the crash, the manager summarized what happened – again, heavily redacted.
- At 1305pm Space Coast Testing’s Team Hennessy Reported to NASA Tower to call 911 for a vehicle crash on the runway.
- The vehicle involved was a Hennessy Venom F5.
- At 1709Z, 1309pm Chief 3 along with ARF30 and additional fire equipment responded.
- At 1710Z the driver was reported out of the vehicle and OK.
- At 1312pm I responded to the scene and asked NASA Protective Services to standby at Gate 3 for further response access. On scene I advised the tower to have all aircraft circumnavigate the airspace, closed Sharkey Rd at the ATC driveway, advised our midfield tenant and Rush employee that were currently at the ATCT to delete all photos, and started assessing the runway damage.
- A tow truck was escorted on scene at approx. 1345L and car was upright at 1403L.
- At 1525L the vehicle was loaded back into its trailer with assist from the tow truck.
- Approx. 3-4 gallons of hydraulic fluid and ethanol gasoline were cleaned up by the Operations and Maintenance team. They will be disposed of by Rush Facilities.
- All vehicles were off the runway at 1546L, 1946Z. The runway remained closed to be blown off and inspected for opening but is now open. All runway damage is within tolerance for aircraft to reopen and 3 spall repairs have been noted with the team for later repair to support our customer. All incident statements, signed hold harmless’ s, and a statement from Space Coast Testing describing which test plan test was being performed should be to us within the 24 hour period I’ve requested it in. Please see photos below and let me know if you have any questions.
To read the email from Space Florida’s Spaceport Manager to staff, click here.
All of the photos in the email provided to News 6 were blacked out.
Space Florida also provided to News 6 eight signed participant Hold Harmless agreements.
Space Florida’s 30-page contract with Space Coast Testing includes indemnification clauses that presumably remove testing liability from Space Florida, the Kennedy Space Center, NASA, the U.S. Government and U.S. taxpayers that funded the construction of the Shuttle runway in 1976.
The contract states Space Florida’s permitted use for the LLF:
- To complement the Company’s research and development efforts in aerodynamics, suspension systems, power production, low-friction surface coatings, advanced materials, and fuel efficiency by collecting engineering data using high performance automobiles. Company may conduct a series of straight-line tests on one or more vehicles utilizing the SLF runway (the “Vehicle Tests”).
According to the contract, a company renting the LLF must maintain a minimum of $1 million liability insurance and agree to certain “responsibilities,” including:
- Prepare and submit an application package to Space Florida for review for each proposed Vehicle Test.
- Prepare and submit a Test Plan Program before each Vehicle Test to Space Florida for review.
- The Test Plan Program shall include, at a minimum, the following information:
- i. Vehicle Test schedule;
- ii. Operational procedures;
- iii. Pre-event briefing;
- iv. Emergency/safety procedure;
- v. Communications plan (must include point of contact information for performing third party companies);
- vi. Shutdown/closeout procedure; and
- vii. A certification that each Vehicle Test will be performed in conformance with the Test Plan Program;
- viii. Supporting documents (i.e., insurance certifications, signed SLF fee quote, signed Release, Hold Harmless and Waiver of Rights Agreements.)
A company must also agree to “Report any mishaps, accidents, anomalies, deviations from a Test Plan Program, or damage to any property owned or not owned by Company to Space Florida no more than 24 hours from the incident.”
“Our management agreement that we jointly developed with NASA dictates how we use the facility, and that aerospace activities take priority over other research or testing,” Curry said. “To date, no incident has ever impeded the use of the runway for its primary purpose of aerospace activities.”
Curry said Space Florida regularly rejects requests for LLF rental.
“All companies that want to use the LLF must provide a detailed plan that aligns with our guidelines,” Curry said. “We then evaluate and frequently reject requests that do not meet our requirements of aerospace or aerodynamic testing.”
Space Florida completed an Incident Investigation Worksheet after the crash. The cause(s) were listed as “unknown - company investigating and evaluating mechanical failures and or causes.”
To read the Incident Investigation Worksheet, click here.
Space Florida closed the investigation three weeks after the crash on July 23 and declared “Corrective actions and/or recommendations to prevent similar incidents: Follow all test plan safety procedures.”
Titusville-based RUSH facilities submitted a bill to Space Florida for “Hazmat cleanup and disposal from spill on the runway” and “conduct 3 spall repairs and add joint seal material to 1 location” in the amount of $712.70. Curry said Space Coast Testing was invoiced.
To view the invoice from Rush Facilities for cleanup and runway repairs, click here.
“Aerodynamic testing on this property is not new and has taken place for many years, dating back to the Space Shuttle era under NASA’s management,” Curry said. “With any kind of testing, there is always an element of risk, however Space Florida has policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety and protection of all people and assets involved. This instance validated our process: when an incident occurs, we implement our safety plan, assess, document and make appropriate repairs, if needed, with minimal interruption to operations.”
Curry said the LLF was reopened two-and-a-half hours after the crash.
John Hennessey expressed gratitude to the Kennedy Space Center.
“I am very grateful to our team of engineers and technicians who have designed and built an amazingly strong vehicle,” Hennessey wrote in his Instagram post. “We are also very thankful to the first responders and staff at KSC for their quick response to ensure everyone’s safety.”
News 6 contacted Hennessey Special Vehicles for additional comment but did not receive a response.