The Paris Air Show Was a Failure
In the late 1970s, two supersonic aircraft were released. The Concorde is one you may have heard of due to its popularity. You might have never heard of the other. Because the Tupolev Tu-144 was a colossal failure.
In reality, the Tu-144’s first passenger prototype was as embarrassing as it could possibly be. It crashed during the Paris Air Show after 22 of the 24 central systems failed during the flight. Hundreds of attempts (55 in total) were attempted to keep the airplane flying, but it was eventually shut down.
The approaching gunner plane was a death trap for any pilot who needed to bail.