The investigation into the fatal Virgin Galactic spaceship crash has found one of the pilots deployed the "feathering" function too early.
Camera footage from inside SpaceShipTwo revealed that the key safety feature which helps the craft descend was unlocked by the co-pilot.
But the head of America's National Transportation Safety Board, Christopher Hart, stressed he was not saying this had been the cause of the disaster and that the investigation was still in its earliest stages.
Mr Hart said the "feathering" function - which involves the rotation of the tail boom - should have been deployed when the vehicle was travelling about 1.4 times the speed of sound.
But the feather began rotating when the vehicle was travelling at Mach 1.0.
"Normal launch procedures are that after the release, the ignition of the rocket, and acceleration, the feathering devices are not to be moved," he said.
"The lock/unlock lever is not to be moved into the unlock position until the acceleration is up to Mach 1.4. Instead, as I indicated, that occurred at approximately Mach 1.0."
Mr Hart also said the craft's fuel tanks and engine had been recovered intact, indicating there was no explosion.
He told reporters the fuel tanks and engine showed no signs of "burn through" or of being breached.
"The engine burn was normal up until the extension of the feathers," Mr Hart told reporters.
Nearly all the important parts of the vessel had been recovered and had been taken to a hangar for examination.
SpaceShipTwo exploded over California's Mojave Desert during its 35th test flight shortly after being released at high altitude from its mothership WhiteKnightTwo.
Co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39, from Tehachapi, California, was killed in Friday's crash.
The pilot, Peter Siebold, 43, was badly injured after ejecting from the craft.
Virgin Galactic had been aiming to become the first commercial "spaceline" by beginning tourist flights to the edge of space next year.
The company has defended its record after concerns were raised about the safety of the project.
In a statement it said: "At Virgin Galactic, we are dedicated to opening the space frontier, while keeping safety as our 'North Star'.
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Gallery: Virgin Galactic Crash Wreckage
Investigators examine the wreckage of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft which crashed in the Mojave Desert. They claim it could take a year to determine the cause of the accident
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The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team is expected to spend the next week at the crash site in California
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The ship broke up in mid-air during a test flight on Friday. One of the pilots was killed and the other injured
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The team has already completed its first full day of the investigation
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Officials say they are expected to trawl through "extensive data" - which is why the full investigation could take about 12 months or so
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The craft's debris was spread over an area measuring five miles from end to end
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Police secured the crash site in the Mojave Desert amid fears that some of the debris could be explosive
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The spacecraft was on its first test flight for nine months when it crashed near the town of Bakersfield
"This has guided every decision we have made over the past decade, and any suggestion to the contrary is categorically untrue."
Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among those who are said to have already reserved seats and paid a deposit on the $250,000 (£156,000) ticket price for a minute-long suborbital flight on SpaceShipTwo, which could carry six passengers.
Sir Richard Branson said none of the 700 ticket holders had so far backed out.
The Virgin Group founder said one person had actually bought a ticket since the crash.
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