The board of inquiry clears Maverick's responsibility for Goose's death, but he is overcome by guilt, and shaken. Maverick and Goose eject, but Goose hits the jettisoned aircraft canopy head-first and is killed. However, his F-14 flies through Iceman's jet wash and suffers a flameout of both engines, going into an unrecoverable flat spin. Noticing that Iceman pulls time during his chase after the A-4 so his total score remains higher than Maverick's, Maverick pressures him to break off his engagement with the A-4 to shoot it down himself. Part of the scoring in every flight is the time taken for every dogfight to conclude. Maverick and Iceman, direct competitors for the TOPGUN Trophy, chase an A-4 in Hop 31. Jester publicly tells Maverick his flying is excellent but should "never leave wingman." Still, he is defeated when maneuvered by him so his wingman Jester can shoot him from behind, demonstrating the value of teamwork over individual. On training Hop 19, Maverick abandons his wingman Hollywood to chase Viper, impressing Viper with his flying abilities. In class, Charlie also objects to his aggressive tactics but privately tells him she admires his flying, omitting it from her reports to hide her feelings they begin a romantic relationship. Top student LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky is a rival, believing Maverick's attitude "foolish" and his flying "dangerous" since he often abandons his team to pursue reckless objectives, making him "unsafe" to fly with. Privately, Jester tells Viper he admires Maverick's skill, but he does not know if he would trust him as a teammate in combat.
Maverick and Goose are reprimanded by chief instructor CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf. On Maverick's first training hop, he defeats instructor LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly, breaks a major rule of engagement by reckless flying, immediately followed by a second by "buzzing" the control tower at top speed. She later becomes interested in Maverick upon learning of his inverted maneuver with the MiG-28, which disproves US intelligence on its performance. He learns the next day she is an astrophysicist and civilian TOPGUN instructor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. The day before TOPGUN starts, Maverick, assisted by Goose, unsuccessfully approaches a woman at a bar. Maverick and Goose are sent in Cougar's place by CAG "Stinger" to attend TOPGUN, the Naval Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar. Cougar gives up his wings, citing his newborn child that he has never seen. Maverick drives it off, but Cougar is so shaken that Maverick has to defy orders and shepherd him back to the carrier. During an interception with two hostile MiG-28s (portrayed by USN F-5s), Maverick missile-locks on one, while the other hostile locks onto Maverick's wingman, Cougar. US Naval Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard the USS Enterprise, fly the F-14A Tomcat. A sequel, titled Top Gun: Maverick, was released 36 years later on May 27, 2022, to greater critical and commercial success. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for " Take My Breath Away" performed by Berlin.
Additionally, the soundtrack to the film has since become one of the most popular movie soundtracks to date, reaching 9× Platinum certification. The film maintained its popularity over the years and earned an IMAX 3D re-release in 2013. Despite its initial mixed critical reaction, the film was a huge commercial hit, grossing $357 million against a production budget of $15 million. Four weeks after release, the number of theaters showing it increased by 45 percent. Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews from film critics. He and his Radar Intercept Officer, LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Edwards) are given the chance to train at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. The film stars Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, with Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt in supporting roles. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an article titled "Top Guns", written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures.