1966 NASA T-38 crash
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.
Q23548
NASA
Concept
Q164523
Northrop T-38 Talon
MISC
Q1425838
Lambert Field
LOC
Q38022
St. Louis
LOC
Q1581
Missouri
LOC
Q214996
Project Gemini
MISC
Q11631
astronaut
Concept
Q621462
Elliot See
PER
Q704355
Charles Bassett
PER
Q750141
McDonnell Aircraft
ORG
Q519533
Gemini 9
MISC
Q3667787
Chief of the Astronaut Office
PER
Q174979
Alan Shepard
PER
Q3057459
pilot error
Concept
Q316417
Thomas Stafford
PER
Q158486
Eugene Cernan
PER
Q111240
Jim Lovell
PER
Q2252
Buzz Aldrin
PER
Q752799
Gemini 10
MISC
Q259770
Gemini 12
MISC
Q43653
Apollo 11
MISC
Q4572362
1966 NASA T-38 crash
Concept
1966-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1966
DATE
1966-02-28T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
February 28, 1966
DATE
-38^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-38
NUMBER
-38^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-38
NUMBER
+9^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
9
NUMBER
+9^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
9
NUMBER
+10^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
10
NUMBER
+12^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
12
NUMBER
+11^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
11
NUMBER
point in time
located in the administrative territorial entity
item operated
occupation
date of death
occupation
date of death
position held
astronaut mission
astronaut mission
crew member(s)
crew member(s)