Birmingham businessman Sir Trevor Beattie has pledged that he will still take part in the Virgin Galactic space flight even after the tragic crash.

The entrepreneur, who was born in the city, took to social media site Twitter to pledge his support for the project.

Sir Trevor, who paid 100,000 to be one of the first to travel to space with Sir Richard Bransons company is undaunted by the horrific test flight explosion, which left one pilot dead and one seriously injured.

He said: For the record, I will not be cancelling my @virgingalactic ticket. Not now. Not ever.

A massive investigation is taking place following the crash, and officials said the inquiry could last more than a year.

Christopher Hart, who is spearheading the National Transportation Safety Boards (NTSB) investigation, said the recovery mission was still under way, with small parts of the SpaceShipTwo found 35 miles from the crash site.

Co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39, died when the aircraft crashed in the Mojave Desert in California on Friday, while surviving pilot Peter Siebold, 43, was said to be alert and speaking with family members and medical staff in hospital.

In the wake of the incident Trevor also said: Sweet dreams and flying machines. In pieces on the ground. Broken hearted.

Sir Trevor has also highlighted a fund being raised in aid of Mike Alsbury, the pilot killed in the crash.

Virgin Galactic owned by Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi plans to fly passengers to altitudes more than 62 miles (100km) above Earth.

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Space fanatic Sir Trevor Beattie: 'I'm keeping my Virgin Galactic ticket'