On January 27, 1967, at 6:31pm, a flash fire broke out in Spacecraft 012, which was participating in a Plugs Out Test at Launch Complex 34, located on Cape Kennedy (now known as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station). The fire claimed the lives of the following astronauts:

photograph courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lieutenant Colonel Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, USAF
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Higgins White II, USAF
Lieutenant Commander Roger Bruce Chaffee, USN