page_title: 1966 NASA T-38 crash
hierarchical_section_title: 1966 NASA T-38 crash
caption_attribution_description: English: The original Gemini 9 prime crew, astronauts Elliot M. See Jr. (left), command pilot, and Charles A. Bassett II, pilot, in space suits with their helmets on the table in front of them. On February 28, 1966 the prime crew for the Gemini 9 mission were killed when their twin seat T-38 trainer jet aircraft crashed into a building in which the Gemini spacecraft were being manufactured. They were on final approach to Lambert-Saint Louis Municipal Airport when bad weather conditions hampered pilot See's ability to make a good visual contact with the runway. Noticing the building at the last second as he came out of the low cloud cover, See went to full afterburner and attempted to nose-up the aircraft in an attempt to miss the building. He clipped it and his plane crashed.
context_page_description: The 1966 NASA T-38 crash occurred when a NASA Northrop T-38 Talon crashed at Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 28, 1966, killing two Project Gemini astronauts, Elliot See and Charles Bassett. The aircraft, piloted by See, crashed into the McDonnell Aircraft building where their Gemini 9 spacecraft was being assembled. The weather was poor with rain, snow, fog, and low clouds. A NASA panel, headed by the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Alan Shepard, investigated the crash. While the panel considered possible medical issues or aircraft maintenance problems, in addition to the weather and air traffic control factors, the end verdict was that the crash was caused by pilot error.
  In the aftermath of the crash, the backup crew of Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan were moved up to the primary position for the Gemini 9 mission, scheduled for early June. Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin, who had formerly been the backup for Gemini 10, became the mission's backup crew, and through the normal rotation were assigned as prime crew for Gemini 12.
context_section_description: The 1966 NASA T-38 crash occurred when a NASA Northrop T-38 Talon crashed at Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 28, 1966, killing two Project Gemini astronauts, Elliot See and Charles Bassett. The aircraft, piloted by See, crashed into the McDonnell Aircraft building where their Gemini 9 spacecraft was being assembled. The weather was poor with rain, snow, fog, and low clouds. A NASA panel, headed by the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Alan Shepard, investigated the crash. While the panel considered possible medical issues or aircraft maintenance problems, in addition to the weather and air traffic control factors, the end verdict was that the crash was caused by pilot error.
  In the aftermath of the crash, the backup crew of Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan were moved up to the primary position for the Gemini 9 mission, scheduled for early June. Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin, who had formerly been the backup for Gemini 10, became the mission's backup crew, and through the normal rotation were assigned as prime crew for Gemini 12. Without the Gemini experience, it is unlikely that Aldrin would have been assigned to the Apollo 11 mission, during which he became the second man to walk on the Moon.
caption: Astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett
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