SR71 Sistership, The MD21 Blackbird Accident

I compiled this video from long lost footage of the Mach 3 fatal accident involving the D21 Drone and the mothership called the MD21(an SR-71 Sister Ship). The Lockheed Taqboard Program was cancelled after this accident. Video is narrated by Kelly Johnson, Designer of the Blackbirds.
Leland Haynes, Webmaster, SR-71 Blackbirds.
SR-71 DVD's can be purchased at this URL:
http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/Pay...

• Category

  Science & Technology

[stinkweed007]

one small correction, the SR-71 didnt carry the drone, it was the YF-12 version A. damn near the same bird though.

[Blackbird101]

When Lockheed converted the YF-12 to carry the Drone, the plane was then called the MD21.

MD standing for Mother/Daughter.

[flyboy3633]

When released, the drone could not break through the shock wave wall of the MD-21. It basically bounced off the shock wave and back down unto the MD-21 essentially cutting it in half (with the assistance of the very high dynamic pressures involved at mach 3). They had performed this same routine many times in a .9 dive but never in level flight. This flight marked the end of the program. It was called off by the narrarator of this video - Kelly Johnson - the designer of the beautiful P-51.

[tonyktx44]

Originally to carry a high speed nuke

[electricsoldiers]

at mach 3, if something pushes the back of the plane down and the nose goes up, the sheer force of resistance will break up the plane...

What a beautiful aircraft...

[Nick Upjohn]

what caused it to break up, what actually happened?

[Mrpl3973]

What was the drone for?

[DeKarle1992]

They both survived the ejection and landed on sea, but Ray Torick opened his helmet visor by mistake and his suit filled up with water which caused him to drown.

[JetMechMA]

For God sake why were they flying so close together? Once they launched the darn thing, why didn't they peel away? It looked like they ran into it from behind? I heard that the early SRs had problems with compressor stalls until they figured out how to move the spike properly. Maybe the D21 had a compressor stall and plowed backwards into the M21.

[JetMechMA]

FASCINATING. Thanks for that info...just fascinating.

[NFSKing]

Long live the SR-71, its pilots, its managers, its designers, its constructors, and let's not forget this tragic incident. *snif*

[mantishrimpruler2]

actually it was based on the a-12 not yf-12, the yf-12 is the prototype fighter version of which only 2 were built. no blackbird was ever converted to carry the d-21 drone, the 2 m-21s built were built seperatly on the line and built from scratch. but it took the design of the a-12. the plane was called an m-21 and the drone is called a d-21 but when together the combination is the m/d-21 not the plane.