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<i>I didn't know her, but wish I did:</i>
<b>'First Lady of SR-71' Killed:</b> (Posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2005)
[This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Tuesday, September 20, 2005]
By ALLISON GATLIN
Valley Press Staff Writer
YUKON, Okla. - NASA engineer and champion aerobatic pilot Marta Bohn-Meyer was killed Sunday when her plane crashed during practice for next week's National Aerobatic Championships.
The crash occurred shortly before noon near Oklahoma City, where she was piloting her home-built Giles G-300 airplane. She had been joined there by her husband and fellow aerobatic pilot, Bob Meyer.
"Flying and doing things with airplanes is my passion," she once said. "Given a choice, I'll go fly airplanes."
According to the International Aerobatic Club, Bohn-Meyer had pulled into a vertical maneuver when the cockpit canopy came off. The airplane then crashed just off airport property. It is believed she was rendered unconscious when the canopy flew off, according to the IAC Web site.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Bohn-Meyer, 48, was the only woman to have flown the SR-71 "Blackbird" as a trained crew member, an experience she discussed in her frequent public speaking engagements.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime dream," she said in an earlier interview. "It made a big difference in my life. I considered myself Jane Average.
"I have the distinction of being one of two people (with NASA pilot Ed Schneider) to fly the last Mach 3 flight in the SR," she said.
The novelty of being the only woman trained to fly the Mach 3 airplane was not the draw for Bohn-Meyer, just the chance to play a role in the cockpit.
"The opportunity to fly in a magnificent airplane was the special thing to me," she said.
At Edwards Air Force Base, employees of NASA's Dryden Flight Test Center remembered Bohn-Meyer as an outstanding pilot.
"She made fantastic contributions not only at Dryden but to women as well," Dryden spokesman Alan Brown said.
Dryden director Kevin Petersen called Bohn-Meyer's death is a loss to the center and to aviation.
"Marta Bohn-Meyer was an extraordinarily talented individual and a most trusted technical expert and manager at NASA Dryden," he said. "She committed her life and career to aviation and the advancement of aeronautics and space in the United States. We at Dryden will miss her tremendously."
Through her experiences in aviation, Bohn-Meyer found herself as a role model for other women entering a traditionally male field, a role she didn't seek out but later found she enjoyed.
She was a frequent participant in local and national events geared toward encouraging children - especially young girls - to study math and science.
"You've got to have trailblazers, you've got to have someone to unclog the pipe," she said. "I am the trailblazer. I'm able to prove that it can be done."
Bohn-Meyer began flying at age 14, after receiving lessons as a Christmas present.
When she graduated from high school in 1975, her first desire was to be a test pilot, a field that wasn't open to women pilots at the time. Instead, she attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., studying aeronautical engineering.
She began working for NASA at Langley Research Center in Virginia while a college student, moving to Dryden Flight Research Center in 1979. She eventually worked her way up to chief engineer.
At Dryden, she met husband, now the associate director for programs. He introduced her to the thrill of aerobatic flying and the two spent much of their free time working on their home-built airplane, practicing the intricate maneuvers and competing.
A former aerobatic national champion herself, Bohn-Meyer was manager for the U.S.A. Unlimited National Aerobatic Team.
It ain't the heat it's the humility.
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