| astronautix.com | Bassett |
Born December 30, 1931, in Dayton, Ohio. Bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Texas Technological College. Captain, U.S. Air Force. Died on February 28, 1966, together with Gemini crew member See, in St. Louis, Missouri, in the crash of a T-38 jet into the McDonnell Aircraft plant where their spacecraft was being built.
Elliot See and Charlie Bassett were the prime crew for Gemini 9. On February 28, 1966, they were flying in NASA T-38 trainers to visit the McDonnell plant in St Louis, where their spacecraft was in assembly. Bassett misjudged his landing approach, and in pulling up from the runway hit Building 101 where the spacecraft was being assembled. See, following in on Bassett's tail, followed in, and also hit the building. Both astronauts were killed, and 14 persons on the ground were injured. As a result, the Gemini 9 backup crew became the prime crew, and all subsequent crew assignments were reshuffled. This ended up determining who would be the first man on the moon....