Four-Engine Charter Aircraft Crashes While Descending to Burgas (LZ-BEG)

Incident Overview and Route Details A four-engine aircraft was operating a charter flight from Berlin to Burgas, with an intermediate stop in Sofia. The aircraft was carrying 80 East-German tourists traveling to Burgas, a destination on the Black Sea coast. ## Weather Conditions and Crash Sequence During descent to Burgas, the crew encountered poor weather conditions, including low clouds, rain, and thunderstorm activity. On final approach, the aircraft was too low, struck obstacles, and crashed in flames a few hundred meters short of the runway threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed. ## Casualties The accident resulted in the deaths of five crew members and 42 passengers. An additional 39 occupants were injured. ## Official Probable Cause The official investigation concluded that the crew apparently decided to continue the approach under VFR mode in IMC conditions. In violation of published procedures, the crew descended below the glide path and continued the final approach at an insufficient altitude, causing the aircraft to strike obstacles and crash.