Incident Overview
Date: Tuesday 2 August 1988
Aircraft Type: Yakovlev Yak-40
Owner/operator: Hemus Air
Registration Number: LZ-DOK
Location: Sofia-Vrazhdebna Airport (SOF) –
ÿ Bulgaria
Phase of Flight: Take off
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 29 / Occupants: 37
Component Affected: StabilizerStabilizer
Category: Accident
A Bulgarian Tupolev 154 aircraft, carrying Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov, experienced a catastrophic failure during takeoff due to an incorrect trim setting. The pilot, attempting to leave the airport in a hurry, failed to properly adjust the aircraft’s stabilizer, resulting in it being set to the ‘Down’ position instead of the ‘Up’ position, leading to a runway overrun and subsequent fire.A Bulgarian Tupolev 154 aircraft, carrying Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov, experienced a catastrophic failure during takeoff due to an incorrect trim setting. The pilot, attempting to leave the airport in a hurry, failed to properly adjust the aircraft’s stabilizer, resulting in it being set to the ‘Down’ position instead of the ‘Up’ position, leading to a runway overrun and subsequent fire.
Description
At Sofia Airport all civil traffic had been halted because of the departure of the Bulgarian “Air Force One” Tupolev 154, carrying Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov. Because of a delay of this flight, the air traffic controller cleared The Hemus Air Yak-40 for takeoff, asking the crew to expedite their departure. Trying to leave in a hurry, the crew forgot to set the trim correctly. Consequently, the aircraft failed to become airborne. It overran runway 09 into a ravine of the Iskar River and burst in flames. It appeared that the stabilizer was set in the full “Down” position, instead it was supposed to be set between 2.5-3 degrees in “the Up” position.
Source of Information
https://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phphttps://www.airhistory.net/info/soviet.phpPrimary Cause
Incorrect stabilizer trim setting during takeoff.Incorrect stabilizer trim setting during takeoff.Share on:
