What incident in 1960 came close to causing a war between us and USSR?

The 1960 incident that nearly sparked a war between the United States and the Soviet Union was the U-2 spy plane crisis. On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over Soviet airspace. The U.S. initially claimed it was a weather research flight, but the Soviets produced evidence of espionage, leading to heightened tensions. The incident strained U.S.-Soviet relations and occurred just before a planned summit, complicating diplomatic efforts and increasing the risk of military confrontation.