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Chuck Yeager, First Pilot to Break the Sound Barrier, Dies at 97

This aviator with “The Right Stuff” set records in the air and helped pave the way for NASA’s successes.

By Mark Zastrow
Dec 9, 2020 2:45 PMDec 9, 2020 2:43 PM
yeager bell x1
Chuck Yeager poses with his Bell X-1 rocket plane, which he nicknamed "Glamorous Glennis" after his wife. (Credit: U.S. Air Force)

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The legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager, who became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, died on Monday, December 7.

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