1973 Paris Air Show Tupolev Tu-144 crash

Uncommon card · No. 157747

On 3 June 1973, the second production model of the Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 airliner was destroyed in a crash during the 1973 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport. Whilst performing a display that included extreme manoeuvres, the aircraft stalled at low altitude, and during the attempted recovery disintegrated in mid-air, falling on the town of Goussainville, Val-d'Oise, France, killing all six crew members and eight people on the ground. The crash ended the development program of the Tupolev Tu-144. The official inquest did not conclusively determine the cause of the accident, and several theories have been proposed.

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