He Never Ejected. The SR-71 Came Apart Around Him at Mach 3

▶ Watch the Next SR-71 Mission: He Never Evaded. The SR-71 Outran SAM Missiles at Mach 3.3 https://youtu.be/f0JCbdXBau0 January 25, 1966. Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver was flying an SR-71 Blackbird at Mach 3.18 and 78,000 feet over New Mexico when the right engine inlet unstarted. In two or three seconds the jet came apart around him. He never pulled the ejection handle. He woke up falling through the stratosphere, blind behind a frozen faceplate, kept alive by a David Clark pressure suit. When he landed on a remote ranch, a rancher in a cowboy hat was already there with a helicopter. His crewmate, Lockheed flight-test specialist Jim Zwayer, did not survive. He remains the only crew member ever killed aboard an SR-71. Two weeks later, Weaver was flying the Blackbird again. #SR71 #Blackbird #AviationHistory #ColdWar #TestPilot — The Hardest Build explores how the world's most difficult structures were actually made — and what it takes to keep them standing. New episodes every weekday. Inquiries: hello@thehardestbuild.com