Tu-104 crash near Sofia

The Tu-104 crash near Sofia was an aviation accident that occurred on Monday, 4 June 1962 in the vicinity of Sofia. An Aeroflot Tu-104B airliner was operating a cargo flight on the route Sofia — Odessa — Moscow, but 30 seconds after takeoff from Sofia's Vrazhdebna Airport one of the aircraft's engines failed. The crew attempted to land at Sofia, but 9 minutes after takeoff the aircraft struck the slope of Mount Baba and was completely destroyed. All 5 crew members on board the aircraft were killed.

Crash

The airliner was operating a cargo flight from Sofia to Moscow with an intermediate stop in Odessa, during which it was carrying berries with a total weight of 13,516 kilograms: 12,108 kilograms of sweet cherries and 1408 kilograms of strawberries. At that time there were scattered clouds in the sky at a height of 700 metres and a moderate westerly wind was blowing. At 05:24 the Tu-104 departed from Sofia's Vrazhdebna Airport on a magnetic heading of 275°.

When the aircraft, at a height of 400 metres, began to perform the first turn, the left engine unexpectedly failed. The captain reported to the ground a failure of equipment (at that moment they had not yet been able to identify the malfunction), and that he therefore intended to return to the departure airport. The controller then instructed them to perform the landing approach with a right-hand circuit, to which 30 seconds later the aircraft reported: "Now shutting down the engine and dumping fuel, making the landing approach". At that moment the airliner was already performing the second turn and was banked at only 5—6°, which substantially increased the turn radius. 45 seconds after the last report, the aircraft reported that one engine had been stopped. Meanwhile, owing to the large arc of the turn, the Tu-104 approached the edge of the clouds covering the Balkan Mountains.

The aircraft was turning onto a heading of 95° (reciprocal of the landing heading) and flew into the clouds. The controller asked the crew where they were, to which the reply was that they were at a height of 800 metres and flying in clouds. The captain also asked the controller whether he could see the aircraft on the surveillance radar screen, to which the controller replied that the radar was not working.

The crew performed the second turn and passed abeam the outer NDB, after which, flying on a heading of 95°, it began to climb slowly. 8 minutes 26 seconds after takeoff the controller instructed them to turn onto a heading towards Vakarel. At that moment the aircraft was at a height of 850 metres, and 1 minute 7 seconds later, when it was already turning, the captain reported to the controller: "altitude 900, taking heading for Vakarel". Probably at that moment the pilots saw mountains directly in front of them and pulled the control columns "towards themselves", and also extended the landing gear. But 6 seconds after the last radio contact the airliner, flying on a heading of 132° with its nose raised high and its landing gear extended, 27 kilometres north-east of Sofia Airport, at a height of 900 metres relative to the aerodrome level, struck the slope of Mount Baba (according to other data — Murgash), 1150 metres high. From the impact the aircraft was completely destroyed and burned. All 5 people on board were killed.