Dhaka, Oct. 1 -- NASA may be trying to bring an SR-71 Blackbird, the legendary reconnaissance aircraft that still holds a crewed jet speed record, back into the skies 27 years after its final flight.

Former NASA and US Air Force engineers have been approached about helping return one of the retired aircraft to flight, according to reports by Aviation Week and the New York Post.

Mike Relja, a former Blackbird test engineer, said NASA approached him last month about helping get the aircraft flying again.

Relja, who turned down the approach because of his age and the scale of the task, was sceptical about the prospects of restoring the aircraft.

"I told the guy 'You know, I'm too old to be doing this'," Relja told Aviation Week. "'I wish...