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Famed NASA Test Pilot Bill Dana (MS '58) Passes Away

On May 6, USC alumnus and former test pilot William H. Dana passed away at the age of 83
By: Regina Wu
May 08, 2014 —

 

William H. Dana, USC engineering alumnus and accomplished research test pilot, passed away at the age of 83 on May 6, 2014. He obtained his master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from USC in 1958. Dana is perhaps most well known for flying the X-15 rocket plane and logging more than 8,000 hours in 60 different types of planes. 

Famed research test pilot Bill Dana, who flew the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft during the birth of the space age, has died at age 83.

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Bill H. Dana, a NASA research pilot who flew the X-15 rocket plane at record supersonic speeds and tested many of the most innovative and dangerous aircraft ever developed, died on Tuesday in Phoenix. He was 83.

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  Famed research test pilot Bill Dana, who flew the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft during the birth of the space age, has died at age 83.

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Famed research test pilot Bill Dana, who flew the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft during the birth of the space age, has died at age 83.

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The black sky enveloped NASA test pilot Bill Dana as his X-15 rocket plane stopped climbing at 306,900 feet and began teetering back toward the small brown stretch of Mojave Desert more than 58 miles below.

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William H. Dana, NASA test pilot, died peacefully in Phoenix on May 6, 2014 at age 83. Dana began what would become his distinguished 40-year career at NASA in 1958.

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The image of Tehachapi test pilot Bill Dana wearing a gleaming silver pressure suit, flying alone in a black X-15 rocket plane hurtling toward the edge of space, is practically the definition of the iconic phrase, The Right Stuff.

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