Event Brief
SR-71 afterburner section failure dumps fuel, ignites wing
By The BriefBrief · Sources (1)
Filed: Sep 28, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
Summary: In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird (No. 960) on a planned airshow flight from Andrews Air Force Base experienced a right afterburner attachment section blowout during a low pass over the runway. The resulting 1,500-degree flame tore titanium from the wing’s leading edge; the pilot shut down the right engine, dumped about 14,000 pounds of fuel, and landed still burning.
WHO: Pilot Rick McCrary and Reconnaissance System Officer Dave Lawrence
WHAT: The SR-71’s right afterburner attachment section blew out, causing a high-temperature flame that damaged the wing; the crew shut down the right engine and dumped fuel before landing while still burning.
WHEN: 1984
WHERE: Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
WHY: The right afterburner attachment section blew out, driving flame into the engine nacelle and wing leading edge.
How this brief is built: The BriefBrief uses multi-source information fusion to correlate reporting across sources, identify related developments, and continuously update a structured WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY event picture. Pattern arcs, source analysis, and velocity indicators provide deeper analysis in our MI Console.
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