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Legendary test pilot Marina Popovich passes away at 86 — media

Popovich set 102 aviation world records

Marina Popovich in 1972 Vladimir Musaelyan/TASS

Marina Popovich in 1972

© Vladimir Musaelyan/TASS

MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. Legendary Soviet test pilot Marina Popovich died on Thursday at the age of 86, Zvezda television reports.

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"A legendary pilot, ‘Madame MiG’ Marina Popovich, has passed away at the age of 86," the television said. "During her carrier, Class 1 test pilot fight tested more than 40 types of planes and helicopters. She was the first female pilot to break the sound barrier on a MiG-21fighter jet," the television channel said. "She set 102 aviation world records, ten of them on the Antonov An-22 Antei heavy aircraft," it added.

Marina Popovich was Merited Master of Sports of the USSR, doctor of engineering, professor and member of the Union of Russian Writers. She was decorated with numerous orders and medals for her achievements.

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