Gary Powers crashed near Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) as correctly mentioned above. Ekaterinburg was the original name of the city, in the Czar days, and recoverd its original name after the end of the USSR.
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His accident in Sherman Oaks, California was off a school located at the corner of the streets as mentioned above as well. He was flying "Chopper 4" - a Bell 206 Jet Ranger operating for KNBC-TV Station Channel 4 in Los Angeles. While returning from filming the fires in the Santa Barbara area, and trying to make it back on time for the evening news, he ran out of fuel, and crashed while attempting to avoid to crash on the school grounds (although empty at that hour of the late afternoon). His cameraman was killed as well.
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I had a couple of beers with Gary and some of his buddies in the pilot hangout bar of Van Nuys airport. The U-2 incident was never mentioned with him around, and as a matter of fact, he introduced himself as "Francis" rather than "Gary"... The only conversation I had with him was about the transition as pilot of fixed-wing to helicopters, which I was thinking about doing myself. Gary Powers had done that training a mere few weeks before his accident, and certainly a highly competent fixed-pilot, however his experience with helicopters was somewhat limited.
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I knew the "guys" in Van Nuys thanks to my then girlfriend, Holly Douglas, who was the grand-daughter of Donald Douglas, and herself had been pilot of the KNBC-TV helicopter flown by Gary. She had lost her contract and had been replaced by Gary, so there was a bit of tension between them if present together in the bar, Holly was highly experienced as Jet Ranger pilot and instructor... so I guess I am relaying "her opinion"... My apologies...
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Well, is old history anyway... all that was in the mid-1970s...
Happy contrails anyways, both Gary and Holly are no longer with us.
