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'''Francis Gary Powers''' (1929–1977) was the American pilot of a secret U-2 spy plane that was shot down, flying from Peshawar in Pakistan over the Soviet Union and causing a Cold War crisis between the superpowers in 1960.  He was exchanged for Colonel Rudolph Abel and brought back to the United States.   

'''Francis Gary Powers''' (1929–1977) was the American pilot of a secret U-2 spy plane that was shot down, flying from Peshawar in Pakistan over the Soviet Union and causing a Cold War crisis between the superpowers on May 1, 1960.  He was exchanged for Colonel Rudolph Abel and brought back to the United States.   

Powers was criticized for failing to destroy his camera, its film, and classified parts prior to capture.  The circumstances surrounding his crash and survival were also questioned, because a U-2 plane was supposed to fly at very high altitudes that are difficult to shoot down.  However, a congressional investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing, and a few years after his death in a helicopter accident in 1977 he was awarded 17 medals of honor.

Powers was criticized for failing to destroy his camera, its film, and classified parts prior to capture.  The circumstances surrounding his crash and survival were also questioned, because a U-2 plane was supposed to fly at very high altitudes that are difficult to shoot down.  However, a congressional investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

 

In 1977 Powers was killed in a helicopter crash while working for a Los Angeles television station.  In 2000, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, National Defense Service Medal, and Prisoner of War Medal.