Deadly Exhibition

"Just wait until you see us fly," said Russian Test Pilot Mikhail Koslov. "Then you'll see something." Koslov's pride in his airplane seemed justified. Nearly everyone who attended the Paris Air Show agreed that the Russian supersonic transport, TU-144, was a more impressive-looking craft than its smaller but graceful rival, the Anglo-French Concorde. The final day of the show last week was mostly devoted to flying exhibitions. The Concorde was the first of the SSTs to perform under the canopy of gray clouds that loomed over Le Bourget Airport. As 350,000 spectators watched, French Pilot Jean Franchi put his big bird through a ten-minute series of brilliantly controlled maneuvers and turns. He ended the performance with a fast pass over the field and a spectacular "zoom climb."

Then it was Koslov's turn. After a slow flight over the runway, the TU-144 started an even more awesome zoom climb, afterburners streaking yellow flame and turbofans thundering. "My God," said U.S. Test Pilot Bob Hoover, "I don't see how he can do it!" At 3,000 ft., Koslov began flattening his climb. The plane's needle nose pointed downward, then the craft went into an arrowhead plunge as the pilot struggled to regain control. The stress was too great. At 2,000 ft., the left wing ripped off first, followed by the tail and right wing. There was a flash of fire, and the plane fell apart. All six crewmen were killed, as well as seven residents of the village of Goussainville, where 20 homes were destroyed by the debris.

The exact cause of the crash may never be known unless the Russians can recover more data from the TU-144's damaged flight recorder. Most experts blame Koslov for trying to force the TU-144 through maneuvers better suited to a fighter than an airliner. The real question, though, was not what caused the disaster but what effect it would have on the development of the SST. The French and British have had scant success in selling their enormously expensive Concorde (cost: $46 million apiece). The Russians clearly had hoped that the Paris show would boost the TU-144, which is not only cheaper ($23 million including spare parts) but also more economical to operate. That hope went down with the plane. It will take months to determine whether supersonic travel itself is still a dream or a reality for the mid-'70s.

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