A. Scott Crossfield was flying through thick clouds 10,000 feet above rugged Georgia wilderness when turbulence began to batter his single-engine plane.
The legendary test pilot, who, for a moment in history, was the fastest man alive, had cheated death many times. But not this time.
An hour into a flight home from Alabama to Manassas, Va., Regional Airport, Crossfield plowed straight into an intense thunderstorm. He banked and tried to turn around. But it was too late.