Open links in new tab
  1. Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-15_Flight_3-65-97

    X-15 Flight 3-65-97 - Wikipedia

    • The flight, on November 15, 1967, ended when the aircraft broke apart minutes after launch due to technical difficulties, killing the pilot Michael J. Adams and destroying the aircraft. See more

    Overview

    X-15 Flight 3-65-97, also known as X-15 Flight 191 (being the 191st free flight of the X-15), was a sub-orbital spaceflight of … See more

    Mission overview

    Adams's seventh X-15 flight took place on November 15, 1967, in the number three aircraft. At 10:30 in the morning on November 15, the X-15-3 was released from the wing of NB-52B mothership at 14,000 m (… See more

    Investigation

    NASA and the Air Force convened an accident board. Chaired by NASA's Donald R. Bellman, the board took two months to prepare its report. Ground parties scoured the countryside looking for wreckage, specifically … See more

    Memorials

    Adams was awarded astronaut wings posthumously. His name appears on the Space Mirror Memorial. See more

    Wikipedia text under CC-BY-SA license
    Feedback
    Table of Contents
    Overview
    Mission overview
    Investigation
    Memorials
    External links
     
  1. In the case of the X-15 accident, a primary contributing factor was a lack of mode indication on a critical flight instrument, which had been uniquely modified to support a specific science objective. The X-15 accident followed a familiar pattern where several unrelated, but concurrent failures came together to create an unrecoverable event.

    50 Years Later, the X-15 Is Still a Platform for Knowledge - NASA

    www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/x-15.pdf
    www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/x-15.pdf
    Was this helpful?
  2. People also ask
    How many accidents did the X-15 have?
    The X-15 program suffered four major accidents, three of which were in-flight with only one occurring at a high altitude and Mach number. In the only major ground accident, a propulsion system malfunction caused an explosion in the X-15-3 airframe during ground operations in June 1960 but caused no major injuries.

    A Comprehensive Analysis of the X-15 Flight 3-65 Accident

    ntrs.nasa.gov
    What caused the X-15 3-65 accident?
    The X-15 3-65 accident was caused by an electrical failure in an experiment package using COTS components that had not been properly qualified for the X-15 flight environment.

    The X-15 3-65 Accident: An Aircraft Systems and Flight

    ntrs.nasa.gov
    What happened to the X-15?
    With the loss of X-15-3 and the retirement of the damaged X-15A-2 following Knight’s October flight, only one aircraft, the original X-15-1, remained to close out the program until funding ran out in December 1968. The Air Force posthumously honored Adams with astronaut wings.

    65 Years Ago: First Factory Rollout of the X-15 Hypersonic ... - NASA

    nasa.gov
    When did the X-15 fly?
    The flight, on November 15, 1967, ended when the aircraft broke apart minutes after launch due to technical difficulties, killing the pilot Michael J. Adams and destroying the aircraft. Adams's seventh X-15 flight took place on November 15, 1967, in the number three aircraft.

    X-15 Flight 3-65-97 - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org
    How many X-15 pilots died?
    It is remarkable that only one pilot, Mike Adams, lost his life during the whole X-15 program of 199 flights. As told by John Anderson and Richard Passman in their book X-15 The World’s Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots who Ushered in the Space Age, Mike Adams was the twelfth (and last) pilot in the X-15 program.

    The Story of Mike Adams, the only Pilot to lose his life during the X

    theaviationgeekclub.com
    What happened to X-15-3?
    X-15-3 in Flight (USAF photo) On November 15, 1967, X-15-3 was destroyed during the 65th flight of X-15-3 and the 191st flight of the X-15 program as a result of a structural load exceedance precipitated by a loss of control . The research pilot, United States Air Force (USAF) Major Michael J. Adams, was killed.

    The X-15 3-65 Accident: An Aircraft Systems and Flight

    ntrs.nasa.gov
    Feedback
  3. NASA
    https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/x-15-accident

    X-15 Accident - NASA

  4. NASA
    https://www.nasa.gov/reference/x-15

    X-15 Hypersonic Research Program - NASA

  5. NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190001985/...
    [PDF]

    The X-15 3-65 Accident: An Aircraft Systems and Flight …

  6. NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20140013264/...
    [PDF]

    A Comprehensive Analysis of the X-15 Flight 3-65 Accident

  7. NASA
    https://www.nasa.gov/history/65-years-ago-first...

    65 Years Ago: First Factory Rollout of the X-15 Hypersonic ... - NASA

  8. NESC Academy Online
    https://nescacademy.nasa.gov/video/afbbfa1bb74243...

    X-15 Flight 3-65-97 Accident Analysis: A Fresh Look at the Role

  9. Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Am…

    North American X-15 - Wikipedia

    On 15 November 1967, U.S. Air Force test pilot Major Michael J. Adams was killed during X-15 Flight 191 when X-15-3, AF Ser. No. 56-6672, entered a hypersonic spin while descending, then oscillated violently as aerodynamic …

  10. NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20190001985

    The X-15 3-65 Accident: An Aircraft Systems and Flight Control ...

  11. The Aviation Geek Club
    https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-st…

    The Story of Mike Adams, the only Pilot to lose his life …

    Dec 11, 2018 · The loads on the airplane built up beyond the structural limits, and the X-15-3 aircraft broke up at approximately 62,000 feet and about 3,800 feet-per-second speed. It crashed to the desert floor near Johannesburg, California.