SOVIET SST

n Sunday, June 3, 1973, the sky was bright with scattered clouds over the grounds of the Paris Air Show in Vald’Oise. The stars of the show that year were two supersonic transport (SST) aircraft: the Anglo-French Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144. Supersonic travel for civilians was a novel and exciting concept, and interest in the two SSTs was high. Soviet pilot Mikhail Kozlov had publicly bragged about how impressed spectators would be with the Tu-144. “Just wait until you see us fly,” he said. “Then you’ll see something.” He had no idea just how