According to , an aerospace aluminium and beryllium alloys expert, the Tu-144 design allowed a higher incidence of defects in the alloy structure, leading to the fatal in-air breakup of the aircraft in the 1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash. This conclusion was supported by some of the designers involved in the aircraft's development. Vadim Razumikhin wrote that the load factor experienced by the plane at the moment of the break-up was less than the design limit. If the stress tests had been conducted earlier, the disaster may have been averted. Eventually, the airframe was strengthened and the control system was modified to prevent overstressing the aircraft.
According to , an aerospace aluminium and beryllium alloys expert, the Tu-144 design allowed a higher incidence of defects in the alloy structure, leading to the fatal in-air breakup of the aircraft in the 1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash. This conclusion was supported by some of the designers involved in the aircraft's development. Vadim Razumikhin wrote that the load factor experienced by the plane at the moment of the break-up was less than the design limit. If the stress tests had been conducted earlier the disaster may have been averted. Eventually, the airframe was strengthened and the control system was modified to prevent overstressing the aircraft.