Test pilot Chuck Yeager dead at 97

Yeager in 1947 standing next to _Glamorous Glennis_,  the rocket-powered Bell X-1 that took him past Mach 1.

Enlarge / Yeager in 1947 standing next to _Glamorous Glennis_, the rocket-powered Bell X-1 that took him past Mach 1. (credit: US Air Force / Wikimedia Commons)

Hard-charging aviation legend Chuck Yeager, who in 1947 became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight, died on December 7. Yeager was 97.

Yeager’s death was announced by his wife Victoria via Yeager’s verified Twitter account:

No information on the cause of Yeager’s death was released.

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Source: Ars Technica – Test pilot Chuck Yeager dead at 97