Case file · Official inquiry
The death of Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin and instructor Vladimir Seryogin died when their MiG-15UTI crashed near Kirzhach on 27 March 1968; decades of secrecy bred rumours that he was alive, was killed on orders, or had met a UFO.
1968 CE · 56.05, 39.03 · status: explained
The account
The Soviet commission's report was kept secret. In 2011 documents released and the account of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov pointed to a Su-15 flying too close and forcing the trainer into a spin in poor weather. The UFO version has no support but still circulates.
The sceptical view
The accepted explanation is a spin caused by wake turbulence or an evasive manoeuvre, compounded by weather data errors.