This mission, on 22 August 1951, at first seemed routine. The X-1D was carried aloft by the EB-50A. As the mated aircraft ascended through 7,000 feet, Lt. Col. Frank Everest entered the cockpit of the X-1D with the assistance of flight test engineer Jack Ridley. Everest noted that the nitrogen source pressure indicator was giving a very low reading. After discussing the problem with Bell engineers aboard the EB-50, the decision was made to abort the mission and jettison the X-1D's propellants.

Shortly after Everest initiated the jettison process, an explosion rocked the aircraft's aft end. The chase pilot underneath the EB-50A saw flames and smoke. Everest hurriedly climbed from the X-1D's cockpit and moments later Ridley pulled the drop handle, releasing the shackles holding the X-1D in place. Less than a minute later, the research aircraft was a twisted pile of wreckage on the desert floor southwest of Rogers Dry Lake.

Initially a mystery, the cause of the accident was eventually attributed to Ulmer leather gaskets uniting chemically with liquid oxygen from the propellant system. When subjected to shock or vibration, the combination detonated causing the initial explosion.