1984 Balkan Bulgarian Tupolev Tu-134 crash

1984 Balkan Bulgarian Tupolev Tu-134 crash

LZ-TUR, the Tupolev Tu-134 involved in the crash
Accident
Date	10 January 1984
Summary	Pilot error in bad weather
Site	Near Sofia Vrazhdebna Airport, Sofia, Bulgaria 42°41′33″N 23°28′23″E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Tupolev Tu-134
Operator	Balkan Bulgarian Airlines
Registration	LZ-TUR
Flight origin	Berlin Schönefeld Airport, Schönefeld, East Germany
Destination	Sofia Vrazhdebna Airport, Sofia, Bulgaria
Passengers	45
Crew	5
Fatalities	50
Survivors	0

The 1984 Balkan Bulgarian Tupolev Tu-134 crash occurred on 10 January 1984 when a Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 airliner crashed on an international flight from Berlin Schönefeld Airport in Schönefeld, East Germany, to Sofia Airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. All fifty on board were killed.

While on approach to Sofia Airport in heavy snow, the crew failed to make visual contact with the ground as they descended below decision altitude. The crew attempted to overshoot for an altitude of 80 to 100 metres (260 to 330 ft), but the aircraft hit a power line and crashed 4 kilometres (2.5 mi; 2.2 nmi) from the runway into a forest. The aircraft was destroyed with no survivors.

Passengers

Thirty-eight passengers and the crew were Bulgarians, the other seven on the flight were East Germans.

References

• UK CAA Document CAA 429 World Airline Accident Summary (ICAO Summary 1984-5)