The Untold Stories: The Most Dangerous Airliner?

The story of the Tu-104

In the 1950's, this is the pride of the Soviet Association. A smooth new carrier, one of the very first to be controlled by jets. It flies quicker, further, and is a feature of Soviet innovation. However, something isn't quite right about this plane. Since throughout the span of a couple of months, carriers very much like this one have been engaged with a genuinely odd series of episodes. These planes aren't simply crashing, they're being hurled out of sight, once in a while by a few thousand feet. Leaving specialists hustling for replies.

The 1950's saw the beginning of a blast in commercial air travel. Flying had become more secure, quicker, and more agreeable. What's more, the people who had the means, could now cross whole mainland’s in only hours. Or on the other hand travel most of the way all over the planet in under a day. Air travel had entered a brilliant age.

In the Western world. Since over in the Soviet Association, flying was drastically unique. Soviet carriers were basically an age or two behind Western plans. They were more slow, more modest, and offered minimal in the method of solace. Far more detestable, they couldn't fly extremely far. Furthermore, in a country as huge as the Soviet Association, that was an issue. Since flying the nation over from Moscow to Vladivostok implied halting to refuel no less than multiple times. The outing could require up to fifty hours, and was made much really tiring on board confined and loud airplane that couldn't soar to the point of trying not to unpleasant climate. In the mid 1950s, the Soviet Association needed a new, current carrier. Yet rather than simply getting up to speed toward the West, they were going to take a gigantic risk on another innovation.

The Soviet Opportunity

In 1952, the English dazed the world by presenting the very first jet powered carrier. The de Havilland Comet flew almost two times as quick as any aircraft before it, and fifteen thousand feet higher. Creating it had been a monstrous exertion requiring long periods of innovative work. And keeping in mind that jet powered engines were still somewhat new and doubtful, many could see they were the following advancement in air travel. Counting one well known airplane originator from the Soviet Association named Andrei Tupolev who considered them to be a method for bringing Soviet air travel into what's to come. A stream carrier like the Comet would chop flying times somewhere near a third and empower air travel on a mass scale. The issue was, Soviet authority saw jets as inconsistent, fuel parched, and costly. An overabundance improved left to insatiable western industrialists. Likewise, the Comet had taken the better piece of 10 years and millions to create. Time and assets that Soviet chiefs weren't anxious to contribute. Yet, knowing this, Tupolev had an arrangement.

The birth of the Tu-104

Tupolev guaranteed top Soviet metal that he could construct them a Jet powered plane in only three years. A solid fly carrier with significantly more traveler limit than the comet, worked for a portion of the expense. Likewise, a Soviet-planned jet carrier would demonstrate to the world that the Soviet Association was just as cutting edge as the West. It was a proposition they couldn't afford to ignore. In any case, how would you construct a cutting edge jetliner like the Comet in only three years?

All things considered, you start with an enormous easy route. This is the Tu-16 aircraft. Worked to rain devastation over Europe and for Tupolev, the premise of his new carrier. Having recently completed the process of planning it for the Soviet Air Force, Tupolev figured he was at that point most of the way there. He'd simply have to broaden the fuselage. Be that as it may, he could keep the motors, regardless of whether they weren't the most proficient and somewhat uproarious. He could likewise reuse wings. Albeit more qualified for rapid besieging runs, It would save designing time. The pilots may very well need to land somewhat quicker. Same idea for the tail and vertical stabilizer. They could generally be reused. Landing stuff, flight and different parts could likewise be culled right off the aircraft's mechanical production system. The substantial military parts would amount to almost a hundred thousand pounds. Making for one solid carrier. Planned in record time, and worked for a portion of the expense, Tuplev would name the new carrier as the Tu-104.

While Tupolev was putting the last little details on his new plane, it was becoming clear that the progress to Jet travel wouldn't be so direct. By 1954, plan defects in the Comet caused a progression of terrible accidents which at last prompted the airplane's establishing. The Comet was prohibited from business trips for quite some time while specialists figured out the issues. It implied when the Soviet Association's new fly aircraft made its most memorable practice run in June of 1955, the Soviets unexpectedly ended up with the world's just functional flying carrier. But instead than accept it as an indication of wariness, they without hesitation seized the misleading publicity chance. While the 104 was all the while going through flight testing in 1956, a designation of Soviet pioneers traveled to England on board the new plane. The dapper looking aircraft surprised quite a large number. Flight specialists English journalists actually staggering from the Comet's establishing were kicked into a craze. The press were persuaded that the Soviets had jumped a long time in front of the west with a lot bigger and mechanically predominant plan. For the Soviets, it was a publicity bonus. Furthermore, it wouldn't be the last time they flaunted their new planr. Throughout the next few months, 104s visited urban areas across Europe. Each time, swarms welcomed the airplane and dignitaries were offered a chance to wonder about Soviet innovation. In 1957, a 104 even made an appearance to the Paris Flying demonstration, denoting the very first appearance by non-western constructed airplane. A couple of months after the fact, the new carrier flew the whole way to the US for another state visit, denoting the very first transoceanic intersection by a Jet aircraft. For the Soviets, the 104 a gigantic promulgation win and rapidly creating it out of a plane appeared to be a masterstroke of virtuoso.

The cracks begin to show

Be that as it may, the primary difficult situations were at that point starting to show up. Contrasted with different carriers, the Tu-104 was a small bunch to fly. Pilots whined about weighty, inert controls. Also, the airplane's colossal weight and profoundly cleared wings made low speed flying especially testing. Arriving at occupied non military personnel air terminals was a white knuckle undertaking. Pilots were so terrified of slowing down, it was normal practice to set down the plane at higher velocities than planned. Halting was another issue, the carrier had no compressed air brakes, no push reversers, and a feeble arrangement of wheel brakes. A quickly conveyed parachute was much of the time the main thing that held the carrier back from going on past the runway. However, the protests were gotten over by Soviet specialists.

That is, until 1958 when the aircraft started showing ways of behaving that were difficult to disregard. The main difficult situation came in February, when a CSA 104 flew into disturbance, which made the two motors fire out. Without power, the airplane fell 20,000 feet, before the frenzied pilots figured out how to relight the motors. After a month, one more 104 likewise ran into fierce climate. Be that as it may, this time, the airplane was heaved out of sight and the pilots couldn't prevent it from climbing the whole way to 44 thousand feet. Higher than the plane ought to at any point fly. In the long run the airplane slowed down, and started tumbling back to earth before the pilots figured out how to recover control. Notwithstanding the close catastrophes, Soviet specialists rushed to fault the pilots. However, the episodes proceeded. In August, one more 104 was strangely heaved very high. Once more, the airplane slowed down. In any case, this time, the pilots couldn't recuperate and unfortunately, there were no survivors. Yet again only two months after the fact, a 104 flying among Beijing and Moscow was, flung high up. This time, the pilot nobly radioed back subtleties as they were going on. While he was unable to save the airplane, the data radioed back would demonstrate crucial. Specialists could never again overlook the unusual series of mishaps. Something wasn't quite right about the plane. Be that as it may, surprisingly, they wouldn't ground the airplane. All things considered, allowing it to keep conveying travelers while they were all the while attempting to uncover the secret.

At last specialists would come to understand that the reason was strong updrafts that the pilots couldn't check. What's more, the airplane's aircraft inferred starting points were incompletely to fault. The 104's bigger compressed lodge was inclined to having its focal point of gravity moved aft, contingent upon how the airplane was stacked. This really intended that there was a characteristic propensity to contribute upwards an updraft and the 104 wasn't sufficiently strong to balance these powers, leaving the pilots vulnerable. Various crisis changes were made and the airplane was confined from hovering over a specific height. However, not before one more episode in 1959, when one more 104 hit an updraft before the pilots figured out how to recuperate. A basic plan defect had cost 144 lives. What's more, despite the fact that fixes were made, The airplane would in any case proceed to procure a broad rap sheet of different mishaps. The most well-known were runway overshoots, thanks the precarious idea of flying the weighty aircraft inferred carrier. Almost one out of each and every five Tu-104s that was fabricated would wind up obliterated in mishaps. Be that as it may, given the mysterious idea of the Soviet Association, these episodes got little news inclusion. All things considered; the carrier fostered an infamous standing among the voyaging public. In any event, turning into the topic of a 1960's people melody.

The Aftermath

Like the English, the Soviets paid vigorously for spearheading plane travel. Yet, by 1958, the Comet had been vigorously upgraded and was back in assistance. What's more, the Americans had presented their own fly aircraft Any propaganda esteem that the 104 whenever had was gone. Yet, the Soviet Association's most memorable jetliner assumed a fundamental part in modernizing air travel inside the country. To oblige the stream, aviation authority frameworks were modernized, new terminals were assembled, and runways through the soviet association were protracted. Furthermore, the functional examples gained from 104 would assist with preparing for future Soviet carriers, procuring the 104 a spot among the world's spearheading airplane.