THE SIGHT & THE SOUND 6/10 : Balkan Bulgarian IL-18 LZ-BEU inflight documentary from Varna to Sofia

Almost two decades ago, in September 1996, my family and I flew all the way from South Korea to visit the Black Sea island of Nessebar in Bulgaria. How could I then miss the opportunity to sample life onboard on Balkan's Antonov 24s, which were disappearing at alarming speed in Eastern Europe ?
There were more surprises on this visit, than I have expected.

Yet, my brand new SHARP camera broke down frequently, not to mention the batteries. This camera was the first generation of video cameras with digital recording. Obviously the digital recording technology 18 years ago was still at an experimental stage. The video head got worn out immediately. After a few seconds the camera turned hot and taping was interrupted, especially during the most important phases of taping : Take off and landing. Eighteen years later, I tried to assemble the fractions of this puzzle of video fragments as best as I could.
This is the result.

Nevertheless, owing to its historic nature, I decided to go public. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience.

This documentary features the fourth flight of seven on this visit, continuing on the second IL18 leg from Varna to Sofia.

Enjoy the Sights & Sounds of Classic Aviation.
Thanks for watching.

Flight details
Flight : LZ 012D
Date : Thursday, September 19, 1996
Aircraft : IL-18V
Registration : LZ-BEU
Former registrations :
CCCP-75870 (Aeroflot Soviet Airlines)
YE-AYE (Yemen Government
4W-ABO (Yemen Airlines)
Later registrations :
LZ-BFU (Bulgarian Flying Company and Bulgarian Flying Cargo)
EX-75427 (Phoenix Aviation)
EX-75427 (Daallo Airlines)
Built : 1963
From : Varna (VAR)
To : Sofia (SOF)
Take off : 10.43 h (0743 UTC)
Touch down : 11.37 h (0837 UTC)
Flying time : 54 minutes
Flying distance : 450 km
Altitude : 4.500 m
Speed : 590 km/h
Captain : Lovdjiev, Stefan Atanasov
Navigator : Spassov, Lubomir Stefan