Page 11 - Aerotech News and Review, December 18, 2020

The loss of the XB-70 Valkyrie:

Seconds that last forever

by Bob Alvis to punch out in their individual escape the wives of his friends.
special to Aerotech News modules. Only Al White was success- Seconds, not minutes and hours, is
ful in parting ways with the stricken, the reality in flight test, when so much
Sitting here, looking at the calendar out-of-control craft, but an incapaci- is happening at such enormous speeds
and seeing “6/8/2020” staring at me tated Carl Cross never made it out. Al and what we laymen on the ground
instantly takes my mind back to the White did not escape serious injuries. consider as just a blur. The pilots,
tragic loss of the XB-70 Valkyrie on His descent to the desert floor in his over time, have done their best to an-
June 8, 1966. capsule was also filled with problems ticipate and prepare for the unexpected
Even as a young boy, that event had that prevented a smooth landing and that can happen at lightning speed. But
an effect on me that ended up lasting a broken arm and dislocated shoulder, sometimes the unexpected can come
until today and will continue to do so along with internal injuries, made for a from the ordinary. During an event
until the day I check out of this life. I life-threatening experience that would where it just doesn’t seem like much
have written articles about this tragic keep him in the Edwards AFB Hospi- danger is present, we are reminded that
moment in our Valley and also the tal and under the care of doctors for we never know, even in our own lives,
greatness of that big beautiful bird we many years. when seconds can write a book about
know as the XB-70 Valkyrie. Doing Al White guessed it was just 60 sec- how the unexpected can change our
some soul searching this morning and onds from the time the XB-70 Valkyrie lives forever.
reading some obscure writings on the went into its death dance until the mo- On this June 8, we remember those
incident, it occurred to me that those ment he ejected. He stated just a cou- who lost their lives that day; those who
final seconds of men’s lives and the Courtesy photograph ple seconds later it would have been bore the lifelong physical and emo-
B-70 may not be well known by cur- The XB-70 Valkyrie flies in a four-ship formation with an an F-4 Phantom, an too late, as the G-forces would have tional scars, and the thousands who
rent generations, so this week I just F-5, a T-38 Talon and an F-104 Starfighter) June 8, 1966. had him pinned and incapacitated — were personally affected by the loss
want to share the story of those few 70 in a V-formation. The stage was set 70A-2 flew on, wings straight and lev- which is what many felt had happened of this beautiful craft. It will never be
seconds, to paint the picture of how and it was time to roll cameras. Cam- el, for 16 seconds. There was no indi- to Carl Cross. just another “jet” — it was an iconic
something bigger than life can all be eras began clicking at 8:45 and by 9:25 cation in the cockpit that the craft had In a world of seconds, so much can symbol of American pride and inge-
gone in just the blink of an eye. the photo taking session was over. been mortally wounded; just a distant happen. From the time he punched nuity and the fruits of the labor of so
Flight test 2-46 — which translates 9:26 a.m.: “MID-AIR MID-AIR thump — detached, yet terrifying. Al out until the next day, Al had no idea many aerospace workers who called it
to air vehicle number 2, test flight MID-AIR!” The radio came alive White turned to Carl Cross and said, of many of the dynamics of the entire their own gift to the skies of America.
number 46 — is the official designa- with the frantic and dreaded call of “I wonder who it is.” Even after they event. He didn’t even know that Joe Until next time my, Bob out …
tor of this tragic event. It was the 95th planes and pilots in distress. The first heard the frantic radio calls, neither and Carl had been killed, until a priest
flight test of an XB-70 Valkyrie. Al to suffer was NASA chief test pilot Joe White nor Cross tied the emergency to came to visit him at the hospital and Editor’s note: This article was first
White was in the XB-70 pilot’s seat for Walker in his F-104N, as it rolled in- their aircraft. Even after another pilot told him that he had already talked to published June 12, 2020.
his 49th time. In the co-pilot’s seat was verted across the back of the B-70. The in the formation, Joe Cotton, made the
a newcomer: Air Force Maj. Carl S. F-104’s T-tail ripped at the Valkyrie’s call that “Your tails are gone and you
Cross, a 40-year-old Tennessean, was drooped right wingtip and his errant will probably spin,” they still didn’t
the seventh man assigned to partici- craft rolled sharply left, out of con- think they were involved. Neither pi-
pate in the XB-70 flight test program. trol. It then flipped upside down and lot heard the “s” on the word tail and
At 7:15 a.m., the XB-70-2 took off passed over the XB-70’s back, shear- didn’t associate the midair with the
and left behind the Edwards runway ing off part of the right and most of XB-70.
for the last time. Many folks do not its left vertical fins. While it was still That all changed when the XB-70
realize that this mission did have pre- inverted, the Starfighter pounded away shuddered and rolled over on its back,
determined flight test objectives, con- at the Valkyrie’s left wing like a crazed nose down, and went into a violent
sisting of 12 subsonic airspeed calcula- woodpecker. The F-104 burst into yaw, due to the fact that it no longer
tion runs and a single supersonic boom flames, ripped into pieces and fell aft had sufficient vertical stabilizer area to
test run, after which White and Cross and away from the stricken Valkyrie. hold it straight and level. It was at this
were to rendezvous with a contingent It twisted violently, flipped over and point that both pilots knew their ship
of General Electric-powered jets for a over through the air in a huge fireball, was doomed.
mid-air PR photographic session. then fell to the desert floor below. Joe The airstream hitting the Valkyrie
With the XB-70’s test duties over it Walker was killed instantly. The entire from such an uncommon angle flipped
was time for the meet-up. The rendez- interaction between the B-70 and his it through a giant snap roll, fuel spew-
vous began at 8:27 a.m. By 8:43, the F-104 only lasted 3 seconds. ing from the torn right wing. It was
aircraft had all joined up on the XB- As if nothing had occurred, the XB- at this point that both pilots attempted

Courtesy photographs Courtesy photograph
Left: Maj. Carl S. Cross. Right: Joe Walker The impact site.

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