Aircraft clip in the intro to the Six Million Dollar Man
In the intro of the 1970s TV show, "The Six Million Dollar Man" there is an experimental delta aircraft shown under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress:
This is the test aircraft in which the main character, astronaut Steve Austin, crashes.
Is this just a special effects clip done with models, or is it based on footage of a real test aircraft?
Best Answer
The plane was a Northrop M2-F2 according to IMdb Six Million Dollar Man Trivia section
The aircraft seen crashing in the show's opening sequence was an M2-F2, a "lifting body configuration" built by Northrop. The audio sound effects are from a crash that occurred on May 10, 1967, at Edwards Air Force base in California (although the dialogue heard was recorded by Lee Majors). The test pilot, Bruce Peterson, hit the ground at two hundred fifty miles per hour, tumbling six times. He lost use of his right eye following an infection, and had to stop flying, ending his career. Understandably, Peterson has said that he hated reliving his accident, week after week, courtesy of the show.
Here's a video explaining the crash and it's use in the opening sequence of the show.
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What crash was used for the beginning of The Six Million Dollar Man?
The Beginning of The Real \u201cSix Million Dollar Man\u201d: The M2-F2 Crash.What was the aircraft Steve Austin crashed in?
On that day in 1967, a NASA research aircraft, the wingless M2-F2 lifting body, crashed in the California desert. A film clip of the crash opened the popular weekly show about the gravely injured fictional pilot, Steve Austin, played by Lee Majors.What did the bionic man have?
His right arm, both legs and left eye are replaced with "bionic" implants that enhance his strength, speed and vision far above human norms: he can run at speeds of over 60 mph (97 km/h), and his eye has a 20:1 zoom lens and infrared capabilities, while his bionic limbs all have the equivalent power of a bulldozer.What would the 6 million man cost today?
Total cost: $6 million, or roughly $28 billion in today's dollars. Lee Major stars as The Six Million Dollar Man. Richard Anderson plays Oliver Goldman, the cyborg engineer at O.S.I. (Office of Scientific Intelligence).The Six Million Dollar Man Opening and Closing Theme (With Intro) HD Surround
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Images: Stefan Stefancik, Pixabay, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska