---
aliases:
- U-2 Incident
- U-2 Affair
- Powers Incident
category: Intelligence Scandal
created: 2026-05-17
location: Soviet Union
start: 1960-05-01
summary: 1960 shooting down of an American U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union, causing
  a major diplomatic crisis and collapse of the Paris Summit.
tags:
- Event
- ColdWar
- Espionage
- 1960s
title: U-2 Incident
updated: 2026-05-17
---

The [U-2](/concepts/u-2-spy-plane/) Incident refers to the shooting down of an American U-2 spy plane over the [Soviet Union](/places/soviet-union/) on May 1, 1960. The incident, involving pilot [Gary Francis Powers](/people/gary-francis-powers/), caused a major international crisis and led to the ruin of [Eisenhower](/people/dwight-d-eisenhower/)'s Paris summit meeting scheduled for a few weeks later. It also prompted Eisenhower to order an end to all reconnaissance flights over [Russia](/places/russia/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 4, 6.