Aircraft pics

[427TJ]

A neat airplane doomed by the advancement in Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) development. That, plus its incredible appetite for fuel. The crash occurred when test pilot Joe Walker got too close to the XB-70s down-turned wingtips and his F-104 entered the XB's wingtip vorticies. The F-104 quickly rolled across the top of the XB-70, knocking off most of the XB's two vertical fins and then the F-104 fell away in flames, killing Walker. The XB flew on for a short time until it finally went out of control. One pilot safely ejected (Al White) but the copilot's (Carl Cross) ejection capsule malfunctioned, trapping him inside the falling XB-70 and he died on impact. The remaining XB-70 (there were only two) is on display at the USAF Museum.