What happened
A charter flight originating in Berlin, with a scheduled stop in Sofia, was en route to Burgas to transport 80 tourists. During the final approach phase into Burgas, the four-engine aircraft encountered adverse meteorological conditions characterized by thunderstorms, rain, and low cloud ceilings.
As the aircraft descended toward the runway, it maintained an altitude that was too low for the terrain. The plane struck various obstacles and crashed in flames a few hundred meters before reaching the runway threshold. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the airframe. The accident resulted in 47 fatalities (comprising five crew members and 42 passengers) and left 39 others injured.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that the flight crew attempted to execute the approach using Visual Flight Rules (VFR) despite being in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). Furthermore, the crew failed to adhere to established procedures by descending below the glide path. This unauthorized descent at an inadequate altitude led to the collision with obstacles and the subsequent crash.