Tupolev Industries - GKAP Tupolev OKB

Tupolev TU-144

The supersonic airplane was engaged in a demonstration flight during the 'Paris Air Show'. 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. 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. Out of control, the airplane disintegrated in the air and crashed in flames in Goussainville. All six occupants were killed as well as eight people on the ground. 28 other people were injured, some of them seriously. Several houses were destroyed.

Tupolev TU-134

The crew was completing a local test flight for the GKAP Tupolev OKB (Tupolev Industries) and departed Moscow-Chkalovsky Airport. While flying in the vicinity of the airfield at a relative low altitude, the airplane went out of control dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion. All eight crew members were killed.

Tupolev ANT-20

This first prototype made his first flight on My 19, 1934. One year later, in Tushino, engineers, pilots and technicians working for Tupolev were engaged in a demonstration flight by the Tushino Air Show. Christened 'Maxim Gorki', the eight engines machine was completing a demonstration flight over Moscow with three other machines: two Polikarpov I-5 and one Tupolev ANT-14. In flight, while cruising at a height of some 600 meters, the pilot of the Polikarpov I-5 cruising parallel to the Tupolev on its left side made a turn to complete a tour over the Tupolev. This manoeuvre was prohibited and unscheduled. Most probably the pilot of the Polikarpov misjudged the distance between both aircraft, and the Polikarpov hit the Tupolev. Following the collision, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a residential area located in Sokol, near the Tushino Airfield. All 35 occupants of the Maxim Gorki were killed as well as nine people on the ground and the pilot of the Polikarpov. Up to date, this crash was considered as the worst in the world. Crew: I. V. Mikheyev and I. S. Zhurov, pilots of the Maxim Gorki. Nikolaï Blagin, pilot of the Polikarpov I-5.