Alexei Leonov, first spacewalker, starts discussion about Gagarin's death

Pilot-cosmonaut Boris Volynov cast doubts on the opinion voiced by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov about the reasons that led to the death of first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. 

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Volynov, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the last living member of the first detachment of cosmonauts, said that the version voiced by Alexei Leonov, first spacewalker, about Gagarin's death does not hold water.

Leonov earlier said that, as he believes, Gagarin's plane crashed due to the careless maneuver of the Su-15 fighter aircraft, the presence of which in the area of ​​the training flight had not been approved.

Volynov said that test pilot Stepan Mikoyan also questioned Leonov's version. Leonov claimed that he knew the name of the 90-year-old pilot, who was allegedly responsible for Gagarin's plane crash. 

Mikoyan, in turn, explained that he also knew all the test pilots and none of them could be near the scene of the crash. He also said that he conducted an experiment, in which supersonic fighters flew around the MiG-15UTI aircraft but it did not lead to any emergency situations.

According to Boris Volynov, it is impossible to find out exactly what happened that day. The plane, which Gagarin was flying, could crash as a result of the collision with a meteorological balloon, he believes. It is impossible to see the ball at high speed in advance, he added. 

Yuri Gagarin died on March 27, 1968 during a MiG-15UTI training flight in the Vladimir region. The exact cause of the crash has never been established.