the aircraft encountered rapidly increasing aerodynamic pressure which impinged on the airframe, causing the X-15 to enter a violent Mach 5 spin. As the X-15 neared , it was diving at Mach 3.93 and experiencing more than 15 g vertically (positive and negative), and 8 g laterally, which inevitably exceeded the design limits of the aircraft. The aircraft broke up 10 minutes and 35 seconds after launch, killing Adams. The United States Air Force posthumously awarded him Astronaut Wings for his last flight. An excerpt from NASA's biography page on Mike Adams discusses findings from the crash investigation: Ground parties scoured the countryside looking for wreckage; critical to the investigation was the film from the cockpit camera. The weekend after the accident, an unofficial FRC (Fleet Readiness Centers) search party found the camera; disappointingly, the film cartridge was nowhere in sight. Engineers theorized that the film cassette, being lighter than the camera, might be further away, blown north by winds at altitude. FRC (Fleet Readiness Centers) engineer Victor Horton organized a search and on 29 November, during the first pass over the area, Willard E. Dives found the cassette. Most puzzling was Adams's complete lack of awareness of major heading deviations in spite of accurately functioning cockpit instrumentation. The accident board concluded that he had allowed the aircraft to deviate as the result of a combination of distraction, misinterpretation of his instrumentation display, and possible vertigo. The electrical disturbance early in the flight degraded the overall effectiveness of the aircraft's control system and further added to pilot workload. The MH-96 adaptive control system then caused the airplane to break up during reentry. His remains were buried at the Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery, Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Awards and honors During his military career he was awarded: Astronaut Wings, posthumously Air Medal Air Force Commendation Medal Korean Service Medal United Nations Service Medal for Korea National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 clusters Air Force Good Conduct Medal A.B. Honts Trophy Adams remembered In 1991, Adams's name was added to the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On June 8, 2004, a memorial monument to Adams was erected near the crash site, northwest of Randsburg, California. References External links Michael J. Adams at nasa.gov 1930 births 1967 deaths Accidental deaths in California American aerospace engineers United States Air