Narrative:The Li-2 operated on a flight from Sofia (SOF) to Gorna Orechovitsa Airport (GOZ) and Varna Airport (VAR), Bulgaria.
|Date:||Saturday 22 November 1952|
|C/n / msn:|| 18432303|
|First flight:|| 1948|
|Crew:||Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4|
|Passengers:||Fatalities: 26 / Occupants: 26|
|Total:||Fatalities: 30 / Occupants: 30 |
|Airplane damage:|| Destroyed|
|Airplane fate:|| Written off (damaged beyond repair)|
|Location:||35 km (21.9 mls) ESE Etropole ( Bulgaria)
|Phase:|| En route (ENR)|
|Nature:||Domestic Scheduled Passenger|
|Departure airport:||Sofia-Vrazhdebna Airport (SOF/LBSF), Bulgaria|
|Destination airport:||Gorna Orechovitsa Airport (GOZ/LBGO), Bulgaria|
At the time it is common practice to make a 15 km circle over Sofia, in order to gain a height of 1500 meters before continuing over the Balkan mountains (Stara Planina). The crew decided to fly directly to save fuel and time. Weather conditions were poor with snowfall and bas visibility as the airplane overflew the mountain range. It struck Mount Vezhen (2,198 m) some 20 metres below the summit.
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
» Soviet Transports
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not
display the exact flight path.
Distance from Sofia-Vrazhdebna Airport to Gorna Orechovitsa Airport as the crow flies is 193 km (121 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Networkĺs opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.