In article , fudog50
wrote:

Third party, "I heard of" stories don't show a lot of conviction,
Tony, sorry. Please, if you have it, quotable text or links or even
the possibility that the SR-71 pilot wrote a paper on it? That would
be nice, maybe more convincing, thanks.

You can find the story in Ben Rich's "Skunk Works". The accident
occured during tests designed to launch a drone from an A-12. I
don't have my copy handy, but I recall it happened at Mach3 and about
75,000 feet.

When released, the drone impacted the tail fin of the aircraft, causing
immediate loss of control. The crew punched out. Both of the crew
survived the ejection and descent, however one drowned due to a hole in
his pressure suit.

Kelly Johnson was devestated by the loss of life, and the A-12/drone
program was cancelled.

This accident, and other supersonic ejections from the Blackbird, are
documented he

http://digilander.libero.it/maddog666/serie.htm

- James