Very sad deal..

[AirMcNair]

By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press



RANGER, Ga. - Legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield, the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound, was found dead Thursday in the wreckage of a single-engine plane in the mountains of northern Georgia, his son-in-law said.
Searchers discovered the wreckage of a small plane about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta, but the Civil Air Patrol didn't immediately identify the body inside.
Ed Fleming, Crossfield's son-in-law, told The Associated Press from Crossfield's home in Herndon, Va., that family had been told it was Crossfield.
Crossfield's Cessna was last spotted in the same area on Wednesday while on flight from Alabama to Virginia. There were thunderstorms in the area when officials lost radar and radio contact with the plane at 11:15 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Crossfield, 84, had been one of a group of civilian pilots assembled by the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the forerunner of NASA, in the early 1950s.
Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager had already broken the speed of sound in his history-making flight in 1947. But Crossfield set the Mach 2 record — twice the speed of sound — in 1953, when he reached 1,300 mph in NACA's Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket.
In 1960, Crossfield reached Mach 2.97 in an X-15 rocket plane launched from a B-52 bomber. The plane reached an altitude of 81,000 feet. At the time, Crossfield was working as a pilot and design consultant for North American Aviation, which made the X-15. He later worked as an executive for Eastern Airlines and Hawker Siddley Aviation.
More recently, Crossfield had a key role in preparations for the attempt to re-enact the Wright brothers' flight on the 100th anniversary of their feat near Kitty Hawk, N.C. He trained four pilots for the Dec. 17, 2003, flight attempt in a replica of the brothers' flyer, but poor weather prevented the take-off.
Among his many honors, Crossfield was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1983.
On Wednesday, his plane had left Prattville, Ala., around 9 a.m. en route to Manassas, Va., not far from his home.

[Texx]

That is some sad news! God speed to him, and prayers to his Family and loved ones. He was an Aviation Legend.

[Throttlestick]

God speed!

[Biff]

God Speed and fair skys,, a true American hero. Aviation lost a visionary with guts and a commitment to the mission. Our prayers to the family.

[t-one]

C.A.V.U. to a great one.

another sad note to add, Phil Krafft one of the modeling pioneers also passed away April 9th 06 from a long illness.

[soarhi23]

Its a wonderful thing that he did for the aviation, push the limits and never giving up! Its men and (women) like him that make differance in our world! They make us strive to deliver better products, and remind us that without change, things would be so boring!!!!!

[SUPERFLYJAY]

IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME HOW MANY OF THE HIGH SPEED PILOTS DIE IN A SLOW SPEED PLANE !!! BEST WISHES TO ALL WHO KNEW HIM AND HIS FAMILY

[Boulder]

A very sad day for aviation, very sad indeed.

May God be with the family, as my belief is Mr. Crossfield is in his fathers arms as we speak.

[LookNatU2]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Texx
	That is some sad news! God speed to him, and prayers to his Family and loved ones. He was an Aviation Legend.

That goes for me too, I would like to go out doing what I love to do.

[Kiwi]

Guys.

This is another way to look at this.

First yes it is a very sad event and a terrible loss to his family and friends. A true patriot and extremely brave man has passed on.

Heres the flip side. At 84 he out doing what he obviously loved with a passion. He was not lying in an old folks hospital waiting for something to happen. Looks like he had fire in the belly right up to the last second. I pray to god when its my turn to turn off the lights its quick and clean and doing something I passionately love doing.

Hope I have not upset anyone with this off the cuff thing.

Kiwi

[VIPER69]

I agree with Kiwi (big shock there, we almost always do).
He got to go doing something he wanted to do.

I met Scott Crossfield about 15 years ago by accident and he was as normal as you could get. In fact, it was not until I told my father about it and the look on his face told me there was much more to his story. He was one heck of a pilot and almost died in two dramatic X-15 incidents. One he was flying (landing to be precise and his X15 broke in the middle), the other doing an engine run on a test bed when the plane exploded. His crew chief was working to unlatch his canopy while standing in the fire. Scott motioned him away from the flames, which would have been suicide since he could not open the canopy himself. The crewchief opened the canopy and pulled him out while suffering great burns on much of his body that lasted his lifetime. Crossfield said that is the most important day in his life and he will never forget that guy. Scott was a total class act and there can never be enough great things said about him.

Phil Kraft another great, and I am thankful he was around for us too.

[Kitman]

God Speed oh great one!