US aviation legend Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, has died, his wife announced on Monday.
Taking to Twitter, Victoria Yeager wrote, "It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9 pm ET (sic)."
"An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever (sic)," She added.
Born on February 13, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia, Yeager was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot. In 1947, he became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.
He joined the Army Air Corps in September 1941, three months before the US entered World War II, and started out as an aircraft mechanic before undergoing flight training.
Yeager would go on to set numerous other flight records, but most of his career was spent as a military commander directing US fighter squadrons throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
