WEBVTT - Fall from an SR-71 Blackbird

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<v Speaker 1>And we continue with our American stories. And our next

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<v Speaker 1>story comes from a man whose YouTube videos are followed

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<v Speaker 1>by hundreds of thousands of viewers of all ages, and

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<v Speaker 1>he's simply known as the History Guy. In nineteen sixty six,

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<v Speaker 1>an SR seventy one Blackbird disintegrated at seventy eight thousand feet.

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<v Speaker 1>The pilot's first thought was, quote, no one could live

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<v Speaker 1>through what just happened, Therefore I must be dead. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>the History Guy with the story of the SR seventy

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<v Speaker 1>one Blackbird disintegrating at altitudes unknown to most men. There's

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<v Speaker 1>an old airplane story that's called the LA speed Chat

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<v Speaker 1>can go something like that. A pilot of a single

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<v Speaker 1>injin sssna calls the Los Angeles Air Rack Control Center

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<v Speaker 1>and ask for a speed chat. Wants to know how

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<v Speaker 1>fast he's going, and center tells him he's going about

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<v Speaker 1>ninety knots. Immediately thereafter, another pilot, someone in say a

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<v Speaker 1>twin engine Beechcraft, trying to make fun of how slow

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<v Speaker 1>the cessna goes asked for a speed check and the

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<v Speaker 1>center tells him that he's going around one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty one knots. But almost immediately thereafter, another voice chimes in,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is a Navy pilot who's flying in an

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<v Speaker 1>F eighteen Fighter Chat and he doesn't really need to

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<v Speaker 1>know how fast he's going. He's got an air speed

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<v Speaker 1>indicator inside his cockpit. He's just trying to prove to

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<v Speaker 1>everybody out there on the frequency that he's flying the biggest, baddest,

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<v Speaker 1>fastest jet in the world and show all those cessna

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<v Speaker 1>and beachcraft owners how fast plane really flies. And the

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<v Speaker 1>LA Center radio's back that he's going an impressive six

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty knots, and you think that would be enough

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<v Speaker 1>to win this little contest. When another voice casually asks,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Aspen three zero, can you give us a

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<v Speaker 1>speed check? And after a moment, the center responds, Aspen

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<v Speaker 1>three zero, we have you going one thousand, nine hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and ninety three knots. That story, which was related in

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<v Speaker 1>Brian Scholl's book Sled Driver Flying the World's Fastest Jet,

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<v Speaker 1>shows how we extreme the world's fastest air breathing manned

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<v Speaker 1>jet aircraft in history. The Lockeed SR. Seventy one Blackbird

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<v Speaker 1>really was. But you know, if you find an airplane,

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<v Speaker 1>they can go more than three times the speed of

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<v Speaker 1>sound and almost into outer space. One thing's important. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to fall out, and if you did, it

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<v Speaker 1>would be history that deserves to be remembered. In late

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty seven, the CIA approach the defense contractor Lockeed,

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<v Speaker 1>asking them to secretly design an undetectable spyplane. Lockeed's Advanced

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<v Speaker 1>Development project unit was called the Skunk Works, a nickname

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<v Speaker 1>it had gotten since the original facility had been built

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<v Speaker 1>near an old plastics manufacturing plant that produced awful smells.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen fifty five, the Skunk Works had gotten a

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<v Speaker 1>CIA contract to build an ultra high altitude spyplane designed

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<v Speaker 1>for flying over the Soviet Union and photographing of strategic interests.

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<v Speaker 1>The plane was the Lockeed U two, a plane able

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<v Speaker 1>to fly at such a high altitude that it was

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<v Speaker 1>thought to be outside Soviet radar capacity and invulnerable to

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<v Speaker 1>Soviet fighter aircraft and ground to air missiles. The new

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<v Speaker 1>request was for a plane that could go even higher

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<v Speaker 1>and faster than the U two. The plane ended up

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<v Speaker 1>with the designation SR for a Strategic Reconnaissance seventy one,

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<v Speaker 1>painted a blue so dark that was almost black to

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<v Speaker 1>camouflage the plane against the night sky, It earned the

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<v Speaker 1>nickname Blackbird. The SR seventy one was designed for flight.

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<v Speaker 1>It over mark three with a flight crew of two.

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<v Speaker 1>Traveling at supersonic speeds meant that the outside of the

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<v Speaker 1>aircraft would get very hot more than six hundred degrees,

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<v Speaker 1>so Lockeed could not use aluminum. The plane was ninety

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<v Speaker 1>two titanium inside and out, but most problematic is that

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<v Speaker 1>the ore needed to make titanium is rare and in

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<v Speaker 1>short supply in the United States. The major supplier of

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<v Speaker 1>the ore was the Soviet Union. The US surreptitiously worked

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<v Speaker 1>through third world straw buyers to acquire the ore. The

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<v Speaker 1>plane was designed to reduce its radar cross section and

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<v Speaker 1>early version of stealth that, combined with its speed and altitude,

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<v Speaker 1>made the plane virtually invulnerable to countermeasures. There were also

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<v Speaker 1>challenges given the plane's altitude ceiling above eighty thousand feet.

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<v Speaker 1>A normal pilot's mass cannot provide enough oxygen for a

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<v Speaker 1>pilot above about forty thousand feet, and breathing becomes impossible

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<v Speaker 1>above forty nine thousand feet as the pressure at which

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<v Speaker 1>the lung s excrete carbon dioxide exceeds outside air pressure.

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<v Speaker 1>At sixty two thousand feet some eighteen plus kilometers, the

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<v Speaker 1>pressure reaches something called the Armstrong limit. The Armstrong limit

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<v Speaker 1>represents the altitude above which atmospheric pressure is sufficiently low

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<v Speaker 1>that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body.

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<v Speaker 1>Simply put, a human cannot survive above this limit, as

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<v Speaker 1>their blood would literally boil to a steerd the conditions.

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<v Speaker 1>Aircrews for high altitude craft have to wear pressurized suits.

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<v Speaker 1>In the Terrible scenario where an aircrew had to eject

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<v Speaker 1>at extreme altitudes, the suit had built in oxygen tank

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<v Speaker 1>designed to keep the suit pressurise. Of just thirty two

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<v Speaker 1>SR seventy ones built. Twelve were lost to accidents, and

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<v Speaker 1>the first of those accidents occurred during the plane's testing

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<v Speaker 1>phase of January twenty fifth, nineteen sixty six. The plane,

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<v Speaker 1>tail number nine to five two, took off from Edwards

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<v Speaker 1>Air Force Base at eleven twenty am. The pilot was

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<v Speaker 1>Bill Weaver and experienced Lockeed test pilot. Jim's were a

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<v Speaker 1>Lockeed flight test reconnaissance and navigation system specialist was in

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<v Speaker 1>the rear. The two were investigating procedures designed to reduce

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<v Speaker 1>trim drag and improved high mock cruise performance. Weaver increased

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<v Speaker 1>the plane speed to mock three point two and climbed

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<v Speaker 1>to seventy eight thousand feet. Several minutes later, the right

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<v Speaker 1>engine automatic inlet control system failed, requiring a switch to

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<v Speaker 1>manual control. This was common in the early test phase

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<v Speaker 1>of the aircraft, but as Weaver took the plane into

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<v Speaker 1>a scheduled thirty five degree bank turned to the right,

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<v Speaker 1>the right engine suffered a dreaded inlet unstart. The resulting

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<v Speaker 1>asymmetric thrust caused the plane to roll further right, increasing

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<v Speaker 1>the bank to sixty degrees and pitch up. Knowing the

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<v Speaker 1>chances of surviving an ejection at mocked three point one

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<v Speaker 1>eight and seventy eight eight hundred feet was not very good,

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<v Speaker 1>Weaver hoped to be able to get the plane to

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<v Speaker 1>a lower altitude and speed to allow a safe ejection.

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<v Speaker 1>He yelled for his war to stay with the planes

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<v Speaker 1>as they tempted to gain control, but the G forces

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<v Speaker 1>were so strong that the words came out garbled and unintelligible.

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<v Speaker 1>The radical G forces were beyond human limits, and weavern's

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<v Speaker 1>way or lost consciousness, neither able to activate the ejection system.

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<v Speaker 1>SR seventy one Tail number nine five two disintegrated in midair.

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<v Speaker 1>Back at Edwards, a plane disappeared from radar and they

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<v Speaker 1>lost radio contact. The initial assessment was was that the

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<v Speaker 1>flight crew could not have survived such a violent break

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<v Speaker 1>up at that speed and altitude. When Bill Weaver woke up,

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<v Speaker 1>he thought he was having a bad dream. His next

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<v Speaker 1>thought was, no one could survive what just happened. Therefore

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<v Speaker 1>I must be dead. But as he became more aware,

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<v Speaker 1>he could hear rushing wind and what sounded like straps flapping.

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<v Speaker 1>He was alive and had somehow separated from the aircraft

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<v Speaker 1>despite not activating the ejection system. In fact, he had

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<v Speaker 1>been thrown clear in the accident. His ejection seat was

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<v Speaker 1>still with the wreckage of the plane falling to Earth

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<v Speaker 1>at that very moment. The flight suit had apparently done

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<v Speaker 1>its job with the oxygen tank that was attached to

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<v Speaker 1>the parachute harness, inflating the suit to keep it pressurized.

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<v Speaker 1>That was itself astounding given the violence of the plane's breakup,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was a good thing otherwise Weaver's blood would

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<v Speaker 1>be boiling. But the visor on his helmet was iced over.

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<v Speaker 1>While I could tell that he was falling, he couldn't see.

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<v Speaker 1>The parachute system was supposed to initially deploy a small

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<v Speaker 1>chute that should keep him from tumbling, but he couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be sure that it had deployed, as he had no

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<v Speaker 1>idea how long he'd been unconscious. He didn't know how

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<v Speaker 1>far up he was or how long before he might

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<v Speaker 1>experience the rapid deceleration caused by colliding with the earth.

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<v Speaker 1>But the small shoote had deployed and he was falling vertically.

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<v Speaker 1>The main shute should open automatically at fifteen thousand feet,

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<v Speaker 1>but it could not be sure the automatic systems were functioning.

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<v Speaker 1>He tried to find the manual activation for the shoot,

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<v Speaker 1>but his hands were numbed by cold, and with the

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<v Speaker 1>suit inflated, he couldn't find it. But just then he

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<v Speaker 1>felt the reassuring sudden deceleration caused by the opening of

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<v Speaker 1>the main chute. He lifted the face plate on his visor,

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<v Speaker 1>only to find that the latch was broken and he

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<v Speaker 1>had to hold it up. Given the plane speed, he

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't even be sure which state he was going to

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<v Speaker 1>land in, and the ground below looked desolate. He could

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<v Speaker 1>see the burning wreckage of the airplane on the ground

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<v Speaker 1>some miles away. And most importantly, he was reassured to

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<v Speaker 1>see Jim's Weyer's shoote open some distance off. Despite being

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<v Speaker 1>an experienced test pilot, we never actually jumped out of

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<v Speaker 1>an airplane before. This was his first parachute landing, and

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<v Speaker 1>he said it went okay, despite nearly landing on what

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<v Speaker 1>appeared to be a very surprised antelope. Given the side

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<v Speaker 1>that the search area must be, he figured he'd have

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<v Speaker 1>to figure out how to survive the night before he

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<v Speaker 1>could expect rescue. But on that account he was wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>He was busy trying to collapse his parachute while having

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<v Speaker 1>to hold up his faceplate when he heard someone behind

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<v Speaker 1>him say, can I help you with that? It turns

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<v Speaker 1>out the plane had broken apart over a New Mexico

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<v Speaker 1>ranch owned by Albert J. Mitchell Junior. Mitchell and several

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<v Speaker 1>ranch hands were Brandon Colts. They heard a noise and

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<v Speaker 1>saw parachutes descending from the sky several minutes later. Mitchell

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<v Speaker 1>was a pilot and owned a small Hughes three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>helicopter and immediately flown to where Weaver had landed. After

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<v Speaker 1>helping Weaver collapse the shote, Mitchell flew to where Jim

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<v Speaker 1>Zueer's shoot had landed, only to find that Zueer was deceased.

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<v Speaker 1>His neck had apparently snapped when the airplane broke up.

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<v Speaker 1>After the accident, we were found out that the flapping

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<v Speaker 1>noise that had been hearing as he was falling was

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<v Speaker 1>because the heavy nylon straps that had strapped him into

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<v Speaker 1>the aircraft had been shredded by the accident. And that

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<v Speaker 1>shows how impressive it was that his flight suit held

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<v Speaker 1>together through all of that. But also found out that

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<v Speaker 1>the oxygen tank that connected to his flight suit was

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<v Speaker 1>connected by two tubes and one had torn loose and

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<v Speaker 1>the other was barely hanging on. If that second tube

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<v Speaker 1>had torn loose, and then the flight suit would not

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<v Speaker 1>have inflated and he would have died. Albert Mitchell flew

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<v Speaker 1>Weaver to the nearest hospital, which was in took him

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<v Speaker 1>carrying New Mexico, and Weaver remembers being terrified because Mitchell

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<v Speaker 1>kept the little helicopter speed above the red line for

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<v Speaker 1>the entire trip, and Weaver was thinking how ironic would

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<v Speaker 1>be that if he survived falling out of an SR

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<v Speaker 1>seventy one at seventy eight thousand feet only to die

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<v Speaker 1>in a little helicopter on the way to the hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>The Air Force retired the SR seventy one in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety eight and NASA retired THEIRS in nineteen ninety nine,

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<v Speaker 1>but there are persistent rumors that the skunk Works is

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<v Speaker 1>working on a successor to the SR seventy one that

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<v Speaker 1>some people claim will be twice as fast. In its

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<v Speaker 1>thirty three years of service, Jim Sware was the only

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<v Speaker 1>SR seventy one crew member to die in a flight accident.

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<v Speaker 1>Bill Weaver was backflying SR seventy ones within a week

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<v Speaker 1>and eventually became Lockheed's chief test pilot. He retired and

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<v Speaker 1>lives in Carlsbad, California. The man who survived the disintegrating

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<v Speaker 1>Blackbird his story, Bill Weavers. Here are now American stories