38 Years Ago Today

[RichieB16]

On March 27, 1968, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was killed in a crash of a Mig-15 during a training flight.

Soveit cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became an international celebrity when he was launched into space onboard Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, becoming the first human to fly in space.

Following his historic space flight, he was never again allowed to fly in space.  He became the deputy training director at the cosmonaut training facility known as "Star City" and began to retrain as a fighter pilot during that process.  During a routine training flight, his Mig-15 crashed and Gagarin was killed.  The cause of the accident was never determined.

[C]

I always thought he was killed in a car crash...

Oh well, a plane crash it obviously was...

[Woodlouse2002]

The cause of the crash was only never determined because the Russians made sure no one could. All the bits of wreckage from his plane are stored in barrels and no one is allowed to examine them.

[Hagar]

The cause of the crash was only never determined because the Russians made sure no one could.

Which obviously led to more conspiracy theories. If it was a ordinary training accident one has to ask what there was to hide. http://www.jamesoberg.com/soviet.html

[Theis]

And the funny thing is, that on that very same day, our beloved mod Dave was born!

[dcunning30]

Personally, I think Gagarin was murdered by one of the last survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.  It was learned that Gagarin was secretly a descendant of a German sub captain who was dismissed in disgrace from the German navy after it was learned that German sub captain sank the Titanic as a cult offering to space aliens.

[Felix/FFDS]

[quote]Personally, I think Gagarin was murdered by one of the last survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.

[RichieB16]

The cause of the crash was only never determined because the Russians made sure no one could. All the bits of wreckage from his plane are stored in barrels and no one is allowed to examine them.

My understanding is that there was an investigation but nothing special was found.  There were rumors that he was drunk but according to Soviet toxicology reports he was not.  They did create a story that he didn't bail out so he could keep the plane from hitting a school but that was not true.  I suppose they wanted him to go down as a hero.

There are several real theories about the crash though.  One that I have read is that turbulence from an Su-11 using its afterburners caused the Mig-15 to lose control.  That mixed with the poor weather conditions caused Gagarin and the instructor he was with to not be able to correct the aircraft.  The other has to do with a cabin vent being left open by the aircrafts previous crew which caused Gagarin to suffer from oxygen deprevation and eventually lose control of the aircraft.  I doubt the truth will ever be know.

However, I really doubt it was anything more than an accident.

[Felix/FFDS]

However, I really doubt it was anything more than an accident.

Spoilsport -

But, coming back to reality, I would presume that our collective wish of "fantasy" leads many to conjure up conspiracies and other theories for what in the end are unfortunate accidents.

[RichieB16]

Spoilsport -

Sorry Felix, I couldn't help it.  

But, coming back to reality, I would presume that our collective wish of "fantasy" leads many to conjure up conspiracies and other theories for what in the end are unfortunate accidents.

I agree.  I think this is especially true when the accident involves someone who is famous or a hero to some.  It can sometimes he had to grasp that something so simple as an accident can claim a person considered so "great."  Even look at American celebrities who have had tragic deaths.  For a long time, many people wanted to believe that the death of James Dean was more than a simple car wreck for the very same reason.

[dcunning30]

[quote]There are several real theories about the crash though.