The plane was finally retired by the Air Force in 1998, and NASA operated the last two airworthy Blackbirds until 1999. The SR71 is the fastest operational military aircraft ever. Piloting was a ...

Passengers could see the damaged engine from windows mid-flight An Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles was forced to make a sudden diversion when it lost part of an engine over the Atlantic.

With a top speed of 2,200 mph, it remains the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines ever ... As early as 1956 Britain and France began research on developing a supersonic transport.