Test pilot Chuck Yeager dead at 97

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:

Fr @VictoriaYeage11 It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET. An incredible life well lived, America's greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever.

- Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) December 8, 2020

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

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