I know this is a bit late. But I was so sadened
by the news of Scott Crossfield dieing in the plane wreck. Something drastic must have happened, he was too good a pilot.

Yeah, that got to me too. I have a signed 8x10 photo here in my office of Crossfield standing next to the X-15. He came to lecture at an AIAA meeting several years back, and I got the privilege of talking to him for a bit.
I always admired Crossfield more than the well-known Yeager, because he has all the skills without the attitude.

According to the preliminary NTSB report, he flew into a level 6 thunderstorm, and it literally shredded his C-210. Parts of the wreckage were found over a mile away from the main part. We'll never know why he chose to fly in that kind of weather. The mountains of north Georgia are dotted by clumps of aluminum debris from aircraft whose pilots thought they could make it. I flew with the Civil Air Patrol over those mountains for more than 20 years looking for these aircraft. Found a lot of them, too, but only one or two survivors.

Walt