Legendary Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager has died. He was 97. His death was announced on his official Twitter account by his second wife, Victoria Scott D'Angelo.
"It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET," she wrote. "An incredible life well lived, America's greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever."
Yeager made history in 1947 when he became the first person to break the sound barrier in the X-1, an experimental rocket-powered jet, earning him the nickname "the fastest man alive."
He served as a pilot in World War II, flying 64 missions and shooting down 13 German planes. He was shot down over France during his eighth combat mission but managed to evade German forces on the ground thanks to help from the French Underground.
"Many didn't make it through World War II. Most didn't make it through the early days of test piloting," Yeager's friend and ground crew chief John Nicoletti told CNN. "The odds of survival for Chuck were as narrow as the odds of America gaining its own freedom."
After the war, he went on to become a test pilot, logging over 10,000 hours in the air while flying in 361 different aircraft.
He also flew several missions a month during the Vietnam War, piloting a twin-engine B-57 Canberras during bombing runs over South Vietnam. Yeager retired from the Air Force with the rank of Brigadier General in 1975.
"General Yeager represents the best of us. For me, Chuck Yeager will always be the sound of freedom," Nicoletti said.
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