Apr 19 2006
From The Space Library
Albert Scott Crossfield, legendary test pilot and aeronautical engineer, died at the age of 84, when his single-engine Cessna plane crashed. During his five-year tenure (1950-1955) as a research pilot for NASA’s forerunner, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), Crossfield had flown most of the experimental aircraft tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1953, at the controls of a Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, he had been the first person to fly at twice the speed of sound, achieving a speed of Mach 2—more than 1,320 miles per hour (2,124 kilometers per hour). Crossfield had later become the chief test pilot for North American Aviation, where he was the consultant for the revolutionary X-15 rocket-powered airplane. One of his two-dozen flights aboard the X-15 had reached Mach 2.97, almost three times the speed of sound. In 1993 Crossfield had received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for his contributions to aeronautics research and development. NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin described Crossfield as “not only one of the greatest pilots who ever flew,” but also “an expert aeronautical engineer, aerodynamicist, and designer who made significant contributions . . . to systems testing, reliability engineering, and quality assurance for the Apollo command and service modules and Saturn V second stage.”
Dennis McLellan, “Scott Crossfield, 84; 1st Man To Fly at Twice the Speed of Sound Helped Craft X-15 Rocket Plane,” Los Angeles Times, 21 April 2006; NASA, “NASA Administrator Statement Regarding the Tragic Loss of Aviation Pioneer A. Scott Crossfield,” news release 06-191, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/apr/HQ_06191_Crossfield_death.html (accessed 25 September 2009); David Stout, “Scott Crossfield, Fabled Test Pilot, Dies at 85,” New York Times, 21 April 2006.
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