Marta Bohn-Meyer
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
.
Marta Bohn-Meyer served as chief engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
of the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Dryden Flight Research Center
Dryden Flight Research Center
The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...
. Bohn-Meyer was involved in a variety of research projects at NASA — she was the first female crewmember assigned to the Lockheed SR-71, serving as navigator
Flight officer
The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces where it was an air force warrant officer rank. It was also an air force rank in several Commonwealth nations where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant...
during studies of aerodynamics and propulsion
Air propulsion
Air propulsion is the generation of thrust during flight by an aircraft or a creature such as a bird, bat or insect.-Aircraft:An aircraft propulsion system must serve two purposes. First, the thrust from the propulsion system must balance the drag of the airplane when the airplane is cruising...
that used the SR-71 as a testbed. She was also project manager in a study of advanced laminar flow
Laminar flow
Laminar flow, sometimes known as streamline flow, occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between the layers. At low velocities the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide past one another like playing cards. There are no cross currents...
wing design using the General Dynamics F-16XL aircraft.
Bohn-Meyer was an accomplished Unlimited aerobatic
Competition aerobatics
Competition aerobatics is an air sport in which judges rate the skill of pilots performing aerobatic flying. It is practiced in both piston-powered single-engine airplanes and gliders....
pilot, and was twice a member of the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team. She also served as Team Manager in 2005.
Bohn-Meyer died while practicing for the 2005 U.S. National Aerobatic Championships when the Giles 300 aerobatic aircraft she was piloting crashed in Yukon
Yukon, Oklahoma
Yukon is a city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 22,709 at the 2010 census....
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, near the Clarence E. Page Municipal Airport
Clarence E. Page Municipal Airport
Clarence E. Page Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. It is 15 nautical miles west of the central business district of Oklahoma City, but still within its city limits...
. The cause of the crash was deemed to be the catastrophic failure of the front hinge of the canopy - which apparently incapacitated her and led to the crash.
She is survived by her husband Robert R. Meyer, Jr., a project manager and flight test engineer at Dryden.