Died 12 May 1953 | ||
Jean "Skip" Ziegler was a United States test pilot. He was killed in an explosion of the Bell X-2 during a test flight on May 12, 1953.
During a Bell Aircraft captive-carry flight test over Lake Ontario, X-2, serial number 46-675 suddenly exploded, killing Bell test pilot Jean Ziegler and observer Frank Wolko. The EB-50A mothership managed to land, although damaged. Only after several other mysterious X-plane losses was the cause found to be a rocket engine gasket made of Ulmer leather, which decomposed and became explosively unstable after sustained exposure to liquid oxygen.
References
Jean "Skip" Ziegler Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA