1973 Paris Air Show crash
Encyclopedia
The 1973 Paris Air Show crash was the crash of the second production Tupolev Tu-144
at Goussainville, Val-d'Oise
, France, which killed all six crew and a further eight people on the ground. The crash at the Paris Air Show
on 3 June 1973 damaged the development program of the Tupolev Tu-144, also known as "Concordski". One theory is that a French Mirage
jet sent to photograph the aircraft without the knowledge of the Russian crew caused the pilots to take evasive maneuvers, resulting in the crash. Another theory is that in a rivalry with the Anglo-French Concorde
, the pilots attempted a maneuver that was beyond the capabilities of the aircraft.
01-2, the second production Tu-144. The aircraft had first flown on 29 March 1972. This aircraft had been heavily modified compared to the initial prototype, now featuring engine nacelle
s split on either side of the fuselage, landing gear that retracted into the nacelles, and retractable foreplanes. The pilot was Mikhail Koslov, and the co-pilot was Valery M. Molchanov. Also on board were G. N. Bazhenov, the flight navigator, V. N. Benderov, deputy chief designer and engineer major-general, B. A. Pervukhin, senior engineer, and A. I. Dralin, flight engineer. The crash occurred in front of 250,000 people, including designer Alexei Tupolev
, towards the end of the show, following a display by the pre-production Concorde
aircraft.
The aircraft made what appeared to be a landing approach, with the landing gear out and the "moustache" foreplanes extended, but then engaged all four engines and climbed rapidly. Possibly stalling at below 2000 ft (609.6 m), the aircraft pitched over and went into a steep dive. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive with the engines again at full power, the Tu-144 broke up in mid-air. The left wing came away first, and then the aircraft disintegrated and crashed,
destroying 15 houses, and killing all six people on board the Tu-144 and eight more on the ground. Three children were among those killed, and sixty people received severe injuries.
in Moscow on 12 June 1973; during the ceremony Pyotr Dementiev, the Minister of the Aircraft Industry, gave a speech.
Following the crash, Marcel Dassault
called for the 1975 Paris Air Show to be held at Istres, which is situated in open country 25 miles (40.2 km) north west of Marseilles.
The crash reduced the enthusiasm of Aeroflot
for the Tu-144. Restrictions on the Tu-144 following the Paris Air Show crash meant that it only saw limited service during 1977 and 1978, and it was finally withdrawn following another crash in May 1978.
to the Soviet Union
.
chase plane that was attempting to photograph its unique canards, which were very advanced for the time, and that the French and Soviet governments colluded with each other to cover up such details. The flight of the Mirage was denied in the original French report of the incident, perhaps because it was engaged in industrial espionage
. More recent reports have admitted the existence of the Mirage (and the fact that the Russian crew were not told about the Mirage's flight) though not its role in the crash. However, the official press release did state: "though the inquiry established that there was no real risk of collision between the two aircraft, the Soviet pilot was likely to have been surprised." Howard Moon also stresses that last-minute changes to the flight schedule would have disoriented the pilots in a cockpit with notably poor vision. He also cites an eyewitness who claims the co-pilot had agreed to take a camera with him, which he may have been operating at the time of the evasive maneuver. The initial approach may have been an attempted landing on the wrong runway, which occurred due to a last-minute shortening of the Tu-144's display.
Bob Hoover
believed that the rivalry of the Tu-144 and Concorde led the pilot of the Tu-144 to attempt a maneuver that went beyond the abilities of the aircraft: "That day, the Concorde went first, and after the pilot performed a high-speed flyby, he pulled up steeply and climbed to approximately 10,000 [feet] before leveling off. When the TU-144 pilot performed the same maneuver he pulled the nose up so steeply l didn't believe he could possibly recover."
Another theory claims that the black box
was actually recovered by the Soviets and decoded. The cause of this accident is now thought to be due to changes made by the ground engineering team to the auto-stabilisation input controls prior to the second day of display flights. These changes were intended to allow the Tu-144 to outperform the Concorde in the display circuit. Unfortunately, the changes also inadvertently connected some factory test wiring which resulted in an excessive rate of climb, leading to the stall and subsequent crash.
A third theory relates to deliberate misinformation on the part of the Anglo-French team. The main thrust of this theory was that the Anglo-French team knew that the Soviet team were planning to steal the design plans of the Concorde, and the Soviets were allegedly passed false blueprints with a flawed design. The case, it is claimed, contributed to the imprisonment by the Soviets of Greville Wynne
in 1963 for spying. Wynne was imprisoned on 11 May 1963 and the development of the Tu-144 was not sanctioned until 16 July.
Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a Soviet supersonic transport aircraft and remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Concorde...
at Goussainville, Val-d'Oise
Goussainville, Val-d'Oise
Goussainville is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located north-northeast from the center of Paris , near Charles de Gaulle International Airport....
, France, which killed all six crew and a further eight people on the ground. The crash at the Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
on 3 June 1973 damaged the development program of the Tupolev Tu-144, also known as "Concordski". One theory is that a French Mirage
Dassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
jet sent to photograph the aircraft without the knowledge of the Russian crew caused the pilots to take evasive maneuvers, resulting in the crash. Another theory is that in a rivalry with the Anglo-French Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
, the pilots attempted a maneuver that was beyond the capabilities of the aircraft.
Incident
The aircraft involved was Tupolev Tu-144S CCCP-77102, manufacturer's serial numberSerial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
01-2, the second production Tu-144. The aircraft had first flown on 29 March 1972. This aircraft had been heavily modified compared to the initial prototype, now featuring engine nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
s split on either side of the fuselage, landing gear that retracted into the nacelles, and retractable foreplanes. The pilot was Mikhail Koslov, and the co-pilot was Valery M. Molchanov. Also on board were G. N. Bazhenov, the flight navigator, V. N. Benderov, deputy chief designer and engineer major-general, B. A. Pervukhin, senior engineer, and A. I. Dralin, flight engineer. The crash occurred in front of 250,000 people, including designer Alexei Tupolev
Alexei Tupolev
Alexei Andreyevich Tupolev was a Soviet aircraft designer who led the development of the first supersonic passenger jet, the failed Tupolev Tu-144. He also helped design the Buran space shuttle and the Tu-2000, which has been suspended because of the lack of funds.Tupolev was the son of famed...
, towards the end of the show, following a display by the pre-production Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
aircraft.
The aircraft made what appeared to be a landing approach, with the landing gear out and the "moustache" foreplanes extended, but then engaged all four engines and climbed rapidly. Possibly stalling at below 2000 ft (609.6 m), the aircraft pitched over and went into a steep dive. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive with the engines again at full power, the Tu-144 broke up in mid-air. The left wing came away first, and then the aircraft disintegrated and crashed,
destroying 15 houses, and killing all six people on board the Tu-144 and eight more on the ground. Three children were among those killed, and sixty people received severe injuries.
Reactions
The crew of the Tu-144 were buried at the Novodevichy CemeteryNovodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
in Moscow on 12 June 1973; during the ceremony Pyotr Dementiev, the Minister of the Aircraft Industry, gave a speech.
Following the crash, Marcel Dassault
Marcel Dassault
Marcel Dassault, born Marcel Bloch was a French aircraft industrialist.-Biography:Dassault was born in Paris. After graduating from the lycée Condorcet, Breguet School and Supaero, he invented a type of aircraft propeller used by the French army during World War I and founded the Société des...
called for the 1975 Paris Air Show to be held at Istres, which is situated in open country 25 miles (40.2 km) north west of Marseilles.
The crash reduced the enthusiasm of Aeroflot
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
for the Tu-144. Restrictions on the Tu-144 following the Paris Air Show crash meant that it only saw limited service during 1977 and 1978, and it was finally withdrawn following another crash in May 1978.
Investigation
The accident was investigated by the DTCE, part of the French Military, which was responsible for accidents into prototype aircraft in France. The wreckage was recovered to a hangar at Le Bourget, with some of it being flown by Antonov An-22Antonov An-22
The Antonov An-22 Antei was the world's heaviest aircraft, until the advent of the American C-5 Galaxy and later the Soviet An-124. Powered by four pairs of contra-rotating turboprops, the design remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft...
to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Theories
One theory is that the Tu-144 maneuvered to avoid a French MirageDassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
chase plane that was attempting to photograph its unique canards, which were very advanced for the time, and that the French and Soviet governments colluded with each other to cover up such details. The flight of the Mirage was denied in the original French report of the incident, perhaps because it was engaged in industrial espionage
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
. More recent reports have admitted the existence of the Mirage (and the fact that the Russian crew were not told about the Mirage's flight) though not its role in the crash. However, the official press release did state: "though the inquiry established that there was no real risk of collision between the two aircraft, the Soviet pilot was likely to have been surprised." Howard Moon also stresses that last-minute changes to the flight schedule would have disoriented the pilots in a cockpit with notably poor vision. He also cites an eyewitness who claims the co-pilot had agreed to take a camera with him, which he may have been operating at the time of the evasive maneuver. The initial approach may have been an attempted landing on the wrong runway, which occurred due to a last-minute shortening of the Tu-144's display.
Bob Hoover
Bob Hoover
Robert A. "Bob" Hoover is a former air show pilot and United States Air Force test pilot, known for his wide-brimmed straw hat and wide smile. In aviation circles, he is often referred to as "The pilots' pilot."-Aviation career:...
believed that the rivalry of the Tu-144 and Concorde led the pilot of the Tu-144 to attempt a maneuver that went beyond the abilities of the aircraft: "That day, the Concorde went first, and after the pilot performed a high-speed flyby, he pulled up steeply and climbed to approximately 10,000 [feet] before leveling off. When the TU-144 pilot performed the same maneuver he pulled the nose up so steeply l didn't believe he could possibly recover."
Another theory claims that the black box
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
was actually recovered by the Soviets and decoded. The cause of this accident is now thought to be due to changes made by the ground engineering team to the auto-stabilisation input controls prior to the second day of display flights. These changes were intended to allow the Tu-144 to outperform the Concorde in the display circuit. Unfortunately, the changes also inadvertently connected some factory test wiring which resulted in an excessive rate of climb, leading to the stall and subsequent crash.
A third theory relates to deliberate misinformation on the part of the Anglo-French team. The main thrust of this theory was that the Anglo-French team knew that the Soviet team were planning to steal the design plans of the Concorde, and the Soviets were allegedly passed false blueprints with a flawed design. The case, it is claimed, contributed to the imprisonment by the Soviets of Greville Wynne
Greville Wynne
Greville Maynard Wynne was a British spy famous for his involvement with, and imprisonment as a result of, the espionage activities of Oleg Penkovsky.-Life:...
in 1963 for spying. Wynne was imprisoned on 11 May 1963 and the development of the Tu-144 was not sanctioned until 16 July.
External links
- Accident description on the Aviation Safety NetworkAviation Safety Network-External links:**...