Overview
- The SR-71 breakup, which occurred on January 25, 1966, killed navigator Jim Zwayer and left pilot Bill Weaver falling about 15 miles before landing alive in New Mexico.
- A right‑engine inlet unstart—when the inlet’s shock system is expelled and airflow to the engine collapses—wiped out thrust on that side and triggered violent yaw, roll, and pitch.
- The jet exceeded its structural limits and disintegrated, throwing Weaver out as his pressure suit kept him alive until his parachute opened on its own.
- The crew was evaluating an aft center‑of‑gravity cruise setup that cut drag but also stability, and investigators later tightened CG envelopes and inlet‑control procedures to restore margins.
- Weaver returned to flying within weeks, and the SR‑71 program continued; in the 1990s NASA used Blackbirds for high‑speed research, reflecting durable lessons and value from the platform.