Originally Posted by
DH106
I think there was a second Tu-144 loss, this one on a test flight near Moscow in 1978. Two fatalities from a crew of 8.
That is indeed the second loss I referred to above. It had a fuel leak leading to an engine fire at relatively low altitude, and was most surprisingly (not to mention skilfully) put down in a potato field at Yegoryevsk south-east of Moscow, from which most of the crew walked away. Anyone knowing the mostly forested countryside here will understand that putting any jet transport down there in a clear space is quite an achievement.
ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 144D CCCP-77111 Yegoryevsk