He Ejected From an SR-71—and Lived to Tell the Story
38K views · Sep 12, 2026 · Education
Comments · 41
@n0ob532 · 2 weeks ago
Each time I hear this story I am in awe of my Dad's cool, calm and incredible flying abilities. I am humbled by his and Blair's skills and team work. I am so grateful that you went south around the "Damn Communists (one of my Dad's favorite expletives)" and to see these glimpses of my Dad doing what he loved and am honored to be his daughter. Thank you Blair for sharing this with me. I love you and am grateful for your love, friendship and honor.
31
@richardsheffield6624 · 9 days ago
My Dad, On April 13, 1967, Butch Sheffield became the first USAF officer to eject from an SR-71 and survive. He and his pilot ejected during a night training mission near Las Vegas, New Mexico after a catastrophic stall. He remarkably returned to Mach 3 flying just six weeks later.
3
@roccos7642 · 9 days ago
I was a maintainer on SRs in the mid 80s until it retired. I had a bootleg cassette tape of when Dan and Blair were dealing with the emergency. Unfortunately in all my many PCS's, the tape was lost. It was incredible to listen to.
3
@RussianThunderrr · 1 day ago
-- It was very nice to meet all of you last weekend at WR!<br><br>Salute to all of you!
@watchlover8297 · 2 weeks ago
Great video, I had a wonderful couple of days at Duxford listening to these truly amazing men, a real privilege to meet them, I was in awe of them I have to say.
3
@phillipzx3754 · 2 days ago
I was in the Army, stationed in Machinato from 1973 until early 1976. One of the fun things to do was watch the SR-71 Habu flying in and out of Kadena. In the mid 70s, Machinato was a short trip to Kadena, where we went diving off the seawall once in a while. It was a great view of the Habu.
@dandevere5736 · 11 days ago
I never flew jets. Fixed wing piston and turbines and rotor-craft. Listening to this incredible driver talking about in flight emergencies at mach 3 gives me chills. These guys who flew the SR-71 are our best aviators and we never knew they were up there. Can't imagine seeing that huge black bird coming at me while hanging in a chute. Wat incredible guys we had in that program. Thanks for telling your story and thing God you both made it out.
2
@richardcostello6967 · 2 weeks ago
I was at Clark AB on a C-5. We were tasked with transporting the engine to Beale AFB. They wanted us to fly it direct with no stops. We possibly have had enough fuel to do it but did not have the necessary reserves so we had to decline. They ultimately used a KC-10.
5
@Triple_J.1 · 1 day ago
I feel validated: 45 degrees maximum bank, is exactly what I suspected from the "hot" airframe limit load of 1.5g.<br><br><br>This translates into a 100-mile turn radius at maximum operation Mach 3.5, and still about 170mile diameter turns at Mach 3.2
@sigfanboy · 7 days ago
Great to see you Blair! Cheers, Wayne
@Pete.hooooo · 6 days ago
wow i have a singed picture of the bird by mr house big love from the buffs U.K
1
@noyfub · 2 weeks ago
Great Story.
6
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