Chuck Yeager (1923-2020)

General Chuck Yeager the first pilot to break sound barrier is dead at 97. Yeager was one of the U.S. Air Force's most decorated test pilots.

Section:Gallery

Mon., Dec. 7, 2020

In this Sept. 4, 1985, photo, Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier in 1947, poses at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in front of the rocket-powered Bell X-IE plane that he flew. Yeager died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Douglas C. Pizac Associated Press
In this Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, photo, retired Air Force Gen. Chuck Yeager is shown as he is honored before the start of an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers, in Miami. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Wilfredo Lee Associated Press
In this Tuesday, Oct. 14, 1997, photo, Chuck Yeager explains it was simply his duty to fly the plane, during a news conference at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., after flying in an F-15 jet fighter plane, breaking the sound barrier once again during the 50th anniversary of supersonic flight. Behind the retired Air Force general is a mockup of the Bell X-1 rocket plane which Yeager flew in the supersonic flight on Oct. 14, 1947. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Michael Caulfield Associated Press
In this Oct. 14, 1987, photo, retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager unveils a statue of himself, in Hamlin, W.Va., on the 40th anniversary of his historic supersonic flight. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Steven Wayne Rotsch Associated Press
In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, photo, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager steps into an F-15D for a re-enactment flight commemorating his breaking of the sound barrier 65 years earlier, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Isaac Brekken Associated Press
In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, photo, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager talks to members of the media following a re-enactment flight commemorating his breaking of the sound barrier 65 years earlier, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Isaac Brekken Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002, photo, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager receives a plaque from the National Defense Industrial Association, recognizing his breaking of the sound barrier and the use of X- 1 loading pit, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Yeager again broke the sound barrier Saturday, for what he said was the last time, more than a half-century after he became the first person to accomplish the feat. Yeager took an F-15 Eagle to just over 30,000 feet. Yeager died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97.

Ron Siddle Associated Press
Test pilot Chuck Yeager sits in the cockpit of an unidentified jet aircraft in this photo released by the U. S. Air Force in June 1948. Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier October 14, 1947, as he piloted an X-1 rocket plane.

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In this Oct. 14, 1997 photo, USAF Brigadier General Chuck Yeager smiles towards a crowd at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. after flying in a F-15D jet fighter plane breaking the sound barrier once again during 50th anniversary of supersonic flight.

Michael Caulfield Associated Press
In this Oct. 14, 1997 photo, USAF Brigadier General Chuck Yeager salutes the crowd at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. after flying in a F-15D jet fighter plane breaking the sound barrier once again during 50th anninversary of supersonic flight.

Michael Caulfield Associated Press
In this Oct. 25, 2015 photo, Chuck Yeager attends The Country Music Hall of Fame 2015 Medallion Ceremony at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn.

Laura Roberts Invision