Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Totally Disintegrated at Mach 3.18 and the Pilot Was 'Ripped Out of the Aircraft'

On January 25, 1966, Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver was flying an SR-71 Blackbird at Mach 3.18 and about 79,000 feet when the right engine inlet unstarted during a 35-degree bank. The unstart caused the aircraft to roll right and pitch up, and Weaver’s control inputs became ineffective at that speed, making recovery from controlled flight impossible. Over the next two to three seconds, the Blackbird disintegrated around him. Weaver did not eject; the seat stayed with the wreckage as his harness shredded, throwing him from the disintegrating nose section at roughly three times the speed of sound.