What if I told you there was an airplane that was essentially invisible to radar, could fly 2,200 miles per hour, and, at an altitude of 90,000 feet, could take pictures of items the size of a tennis shoe lying on the ground?
According to newly declassified documents and a new National Geographic Special, there was such a plane back in 1963.
“Area 51 Declassified”, a National Geographic special, documents a previously classified incident in which an A-12 spy plane, the predecessor to the SR-71 Blackbird, crashed in the Utah dessert.
The plane, which was being tested in the early 1960s, apparently had a really bad day and ended up parked here.
More details and pictures about the crash and the pilot that walked (parachuted) away from it can be found here.
“Area 51 Declassified” airs tonight (Sunday) at 9pm on the National Geographic channel and will re-air throughout the month.
That looks pretty cool. DVRing it. Thanks! :)
There was another A-12 that crashed in 1967, and, sadly, that pilot’s ejection seat malfunctioned and he didn’t walk away from it. A hobbyist managed to find a few bits and pieces left from the wreckage 30 years later.
If you want to read a crazy story, visit http://www.dreamlandresort.com/trip_reports/hunt_928/index.htm
Save that story if anyone ever gives you grief about collecting old computer or console gear.