0:24. It was also the first SST to exceed Mach 2. It was also confirmed that the Soviet pilots made this maneuver to avoid the collision with the Mirage. Quand le Bourget était le théâtre (dramatique) de la rivalité Concorde/Tupolev 144 … The plane was developed under a tight schedule and relied on a few less advanced aviation technologies. By the time the Tupolev crew was at an altitude of about 500 meters, the Mirage was positioned about 200 meters above him and slightly ahead of him. All various analysis carried out by investigators did not make it possible to determine precisely the causes of the fuel leakage by the fact that all the incriminated components were totally destroyed by a post crash fire. Molchanov. Nearly 25 years later, members of the commission of inquiry revealed some elements about the crash after archives have been open to public. But the supersonic plane would enjoy a far less successful career. For the next two minutes, engines n°3 and 4 were shut down in accordance with the test program. He reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in a pasture. "[14] Howard Moon, author of Soviet SST: The Techno-Politics Of The Tupolev-144, stresses that last-minute changes to the flight schedule would have disoriented the pilots in a cockpit with notably poor sightlines. The Tu-144 was already on its way out when another fatal crash happened. As we can see above, the Tu-144 was actually much faster than the Concorde (by 100 km/h) and had a bigger range (only by 100 nmi, but back then it was a matter of pride). As a result, a structural failure occurred on the left wing, which caused the aircraft to roll on its back, to brake in two parts and to explode in the air. According to investigations, the presence of this fighter likely distracted the crew of the Tupolev who felt that the distance of separation between both aircraft was insufficient. According to the investigating committee, a fuel line broke up 27 minutes before engine start. In the morning of the accident, a Mirage III fighter aircraft of the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) took off from Strasbourg and the crew was asked to perform some aerial photos of the Tupolev during its low pass over Le Bourget Airport. Report. Crash du Tupolev-144, Le Bourget 1973. On 28 July 1974, French and Soviet experts confirmed in the final report that no anomaly could be found in the construction or operation of the aircraft and that the intervention of a human was therefore the greatest probability to explain the accident. It was later confirmed that the Tupolev TU-144 was designed to support a positive force of five to seven g but a negative force of one g only. [11] The crash occurred in front of 250,000 people, including designer Alexei Tupolev, toward the end of the show. The airplane operated on a local flight out of Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG). A Tupolev Tu-144S plane, registered CCCP-77102, was destroyed in an accident at Goussainville, France. On May 23, the crew completed a fifth test flight from 1111LT and 1307LT without any incidents. Following a low pass over runway 03 at an altitude of 190 meters for about one km, the crew increased engine power and initiated a steep climb till the altitude of 1,200 meters. A Tupolev Tu-144S plane, registered CCCP-77102, was destroyed in an accident at Goussainville, France. The Tu-144 only achieved this speed by using afterburners the entire time, quickly burning throu… [7] The Tu-144's rival, the Concorde, went on to serve with British Airways and Air France for 30 years afterwards, being finally withdrawn from service in 2003 due to low passenger numbers following the crash of Flight 4590, rising service costs and the slump in the aviation industry following the September 11 attacks. Two engines were shut down by fire alarm but the failure of a third engine forced an emergency landing on a field near Yegoryevsk. Not known by many people, the Tupolev 144 was the world’s first supersonic transport aircraft (SST) just two months before Concorde. The cause of the crash was hotly debated, with some concluding the Tu-144 was flying beyond its safe parameters in an attempt to wow the crowd and others postulating that it was trying to avoid a Mirage jet that may have been attempting to photograph it. Aircraft crashes of soviet Concord and serious flight failures stopped production of supersonic passenger airplane. After the debut of the Tupolev Tu-144, many accused the Russians of stealing its design from the Concorde. The wreckage was recovered to a hangar at Le Bourget, with some of it being flown by an Antonov An-22 to the Soviet Union. CCCP-77102, the Tu-144S involved in the accident, seen at the 1973 Paris Air Show, the day before the accident, Aviation accidents and incidents in France, Includes overseas departments and overseas territories, "15 killed as Russia's Concorde explodes", " Crash of the Tupolev 144 on 3 June 1973 video. Tupolev has now halted the production of these Tu-144's until they find the cause of the accident.. A nearby photographer captured a picture showing the plane moments away from collision. 1:31. Two crew members were killed, and the aircraft was permanently grounded from passenger flight. Follow. All six occupants were killed as well as eight people on the ground. Test flights were conducted on April 27, May 12, 16 and 18. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive, the Tu-144 broke apart and crashed, destroying 15 houses and killing all six people on board the Tu-144 and eight more on the ground.The causes of this incident remain controversial. Marleen Cobbs. [10], One theory is that the Tu-144 manoeuvred to avoid a French Mirage chase plane that was attempting to photograph its unique canards,[18] which were advanced for the time, and that the French and Soviet governments colluded with each other to cover up such details. "Then you'll see something. The TU-144 suffered three known crashes, the most famous being at the 1973 Paris Air Show (there are conflicting theories on the cause of the 1973 crash). 0 Tupolev TU-144 №77102 1973. Before the Concorde, there was 'the Concordski' The Russian-built Tupolev Tu-144 beat the Concorde into the air by two months. [8], Bob Hoover, a pilot on the supersonic Bell X-1 program, believed that the rivalry of the Tu-144 and Concorde led the pilot of the Tu-144 to attempt a manoeuvre 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. It was later confirmed that the Tupolev TU-144 was designed to support a positive force of five to seven g but a negative force of one g only. The 1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash was the destruction of the second production Tupolev Tu-144 at Goussainville, Val-d'Oise, France, which killed all six crew and eight people on the ground. Playing next. [12], Once in flight, the aircraft made what appeared to be a landing approach, with the landing gear out and the "moustache" canards extended, but then with all four engines full power, climbed rapidly. During a test flight the rupture of a fuel line caused the leak of 8 tons of fuel inside the right wing. [6] "Just wait until you see us fly," he was quoted as saying. The 1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash was the destruction of the second production Tupolev Tu-144 at Goussainville, Val-d'Oise, France, which killed all six crew and eight people on the ground. The Russians think a mysterious French Mirage fighter jet that appeared to be tailing the TU-144 just before it went down caused the crash. The end of the Cold War gave rise to an unprecedented opportunity for the United States and Russia to collaborate in a joint aeronautical flight research program. [6], During the show, there was a "fierce competition between the Anglo-French Concorde and the Russian Tu-144". Date & Time: Jun 3, 1973 at 1529 LT Type of Probable cause: to brake in two parts and to explode in the air. Browse more videos. [17], The accident was investigated by the DTCE, part of the French military, which was responsible for accidents involving prototype aircraft in France. 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 manoeuvre. There were six crew members on board. On Tuesday, 23rd May 1978 a second fatal accident happened with the Tu-144D number 06-2 registered CCCP-77111. As a result, the pilot-in-command of the supersonic positioned the aircraft in a slight pitch attitude during which a negative aerodynamic force of one g was recorded. A total of 16 Tupolev Tu-144 aircraft were built. More recent reports have admitted the existence of the Mirage (and the fact that the Soviet crew were not told about the Mirage's flight) though not its role in the crash. After a few seconds, the crew of the Mirage III was instructed to evacuate the zone (the procedure at that time was that each aircraft performing a demonstration at the Bourget Air Show must respect a minimum of 8 km of 'free' area). ... Documantary. [14], The crew of the Tu-144 were buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow on 12 June 1973. The French have accused the Soviet flight crew of trying to bank the plane too hard. 16:32. When all these checks were completed, the crew reduced his altitude to 3,000 meters then carried out the test of the auxiliary power unit (APU). 6 years ago | 222 views. The Tupolev Tu-144 (Russian: Tyполев Ту-144; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tupolev Tu-144 first flew on December 31st, 1968, two months before the Anglo-French jet. And 8 persons on the ground were killed. Six crew members were rescued while two engineers were killed. [14] 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. The Russian Concorde Tupolev TU-144 ... possible was pushing the plane too hard when he attempted the steep climb that caused the stall. And 8 persons on the ground were killed. ", "The Concordski TU-144: A blast from the past", "Paris Air Show: 100 years of Paris air show highlights", March 1952 Air France SNCASE Languedoc crash, DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet 24 crash, Invicta International Airlines Flight 435, Pan Am Flight 110 and Lufthansa Flight 303 hijacking, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1973_Paris_Air_Show_Tu-144_crash&oldid=996220798, Aviation accidents and incidents at air shows, Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, Aviation accident investigations with disputed causes, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018, Articles with failed verification from February 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 December 2020, at 06:44. The Tupolev Tu-144 seemed similar to its Anglo-French competitor — which inevitably earned it the nickname “Concordski” — however it was considerably extra unique and mysterious. The Russian Supersonic Tu 144 (720p) Mei V. Brown. Several houses were destroyed. The crash, at the Paris Air Show on Sunday, 3 June 1973, damaged the development program of the Tupolev Tu-144. The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A) was established in Geneva in 1990 for the purpose to deal with all information related to aviation accidentology. INA. [6] Its performance was later described as being unexciting, and it has been theorized that Kozlov was determined to show how much better his aircraft was. The Russians never caught the flaws and these caused the fatal crash when pushed to its limits. The main thrust of this theory was that the Anglo-French team knew that the Soviet team was planning to steal the design plans of the Concorde, and the Soviets were allegedly passed false blueprints with a flawed design. [8] This aircraft had been modified compared to the initial prototype to include landing gear that retracted into the nacelles, and retractable canards. Mario Guyton. Then the airplane started to descent and four second after it reached the altitude of 750 meters on descent, the airplane rolled to the left at an angle of 40° with positive g loads of 4 to 4,5 g. At an altitude of 280 meters and a speed of 780 km/h, the front left wing detached, struck the left main wing and punctured the fuel tank. The first flight was on Dec. 31, 1968. 28 other people were injured, some of them seriously. It preceded the Concorde's first flight that took place on March 2, 1969. A. Pervukhin, senior engineer, and A. I. Dralin, flight engineer. Le 3 juin 1973, à 15 h 29, un Tupolev Tu-144 s'écrase au cours d'une démonstration en vol lors du 30 e Salon du Bourget [1].L'accident, provoqué par une modification technique effectuée entre le vol du samedi et celui du dimanche, cause la mort des six membres d'équipage et de huit personnes au sol. In regular … Tu 144 crash. In the present case, the negative force having been reached, a structural failure occurred. 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. When the Mirage pilots made a turn to the left, the Mirage naturally seemed bigger to the Tupolev crew. The case, it is claimed, contributed to the imprisonment by the Soviets of Greville Wynne in 1963 for spying. On the 16th day of February of 1969, an experimental Tupolev Tu-144 crashed just shortly after takeoff.. Captain Aleksander and Co-pilot Rudy died in the crash. [14] The flight of the Mirage was denied in the original French report of the incident, perhaps because it was engaged in industrial espionage. [7] The aircraft had first flown on 29 March 1972. 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. As a result, a structural failure occurred on the left wing, which caused the aircraft to roll on its back, to brake in two parts and to explode in the air. [4], One theory is that a French Mirage jet sent to photograph the aircraft without the knowledge of the Soviet crew caused the pilots to take evasive manoeuvres, resulting in the crash. IPSA et AEEIPSA. [16], The crash reduced the enthusiasm of Aeroflot for the Tu-144. Explosion du Tupolev-144, Le Bourget 1973. The Tupolev Tu-144 is the world's fastest airliner. Very similar in design to Concorde, allegations were often made that the Soviets had stolen Concords plans. However, given the position of each aircraft at that time, a collision was impossible. Tu 144 crash. But when we say faster, we mean ‘faster’ with extra emphasis. Crash of a Tupolev TU-144S in Goussainville: 14 killed. There were six crew members on board. They appear to be quite similar and the media went into a frenzy claiming that Russian spies had infiltrated the company. The supersonic airplane was engaged in a demonstration flight during the 'Paris Air Show'. It then slid for about 620 meters before coming to rest in flames, some 46 kilometers southeast of Ramenskoye runway 30 threshold. Whatever the case, the disaster was emblematic of the entire Soviet SST program. Built by the Voronezh Aircraft Factory, the airplane came out of the plant last April 27. [6] The Soviet pilot, Mikhail Kozlov, had bragged that he would outperform the Concorde. The airplane operated on a local flight out of Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG). 24 ONLINE COLLECTION. However, experts believe that it is likely that the leak would be the result of the failure of a fuel system hose connected to the engine n°1. [6] Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive with the engines again at full power, the Tu-144 broke up in mid-air, possibly due to overstressing the airframe. Possibly stalling below 2,000 ft (610 m), the aircraft pitched over and went into a steep dive. [15], Following the crash, Marcel Dassault called for the 1975 Paris Air Show to be held at Istres, which is situated in open country 40 km (25 mi) north west of Marseille. Crash of a Tupolev TU-144D in Kladkovo: 2 killed, Crash of a Tupolev TU-144S in Goussainville: 14 killed. The captain decided to return to his departure point but quickly realized that this would be impossible. Tupolev Tu-144, world’s first supersonic transport aircraft, designed by the veteran Soviet aircraft designer Andrey N. Tupolev and his son Alexey.It was test-flown in December 1968, exceeded the speed of sound in June 1969, and was first publicly shown in Moscow in May 1970. This allowed eight tons of fuel to leak into several compartments of the right wing and a fire erupted when the auxiliary power unit was triggered. Let’s begin by seeing how each aircraft matched up, below is a simple chart with their main specifications. The TU-144 would only undertake mail services across the USSR; until modifications were made in … The left wing came away first, and then the aircraft disintegrated and crashed,[6][8][10] destroying 15 houses,[13] and killing all six people on board the Tu-144 and eight more on the ground. [9] The pilot was Mikhail Kozlov,[6] and the co-pilot was Valery M. However, it’s clear that the pilot had overstepped the operational boundaries of the aircraft in trying to showcase the Tu-144’s capabilities compared to the Concorde. "[12] On the final day of the show, the Concorde, which was not yet in production, performed its demonstration flight first. ACCIDENT TUPOLEV 144 AU SALON DU BOURGET. 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