The accident investigation also pointed to the wake vortex off the XB-70's right wingtip as the reason for the F-104's sudden roll over and into the bomber.
But shortly after that second encounter with a wake vortex, the plane was shaken laterally, changing its direction suddenly and forcefully.
He is the world's leading scientist in wake vortices, and co-authored two patents and has over 150 papers.
Here he began his lifelong work on wake vortices.
I suppose the radar might be confused, picking up a false return from our wake vortex.
She said, 'The possibility of a bomb, anomalous weather, the wake vortex from another aircraft, and various other factors were eliminated pretty early.
The flight took off just one and a half minutes after an Ilyushin Il-76, encountering its wake vortex.
SHK's final report - not available in English - concluded that the plane had passed through the other aircraft's wake vortex while in a steep ( 70 degrees) dive.
The term 'gait' has even been applied to flying and swimming organisms that produce distinct patterns of wake vortices.
Teams often fly V-formations (otherwise known as echelon formation)- they will not fly directly behind another aircraft because of danger from wake vortices or engine exhaust.