On this day: Communist Bulgaria downs El Al flight 402, killing all 58 people onboard

On July 27, 1955, Bulgarian MiG-15 fighters shot down El Al Flight 402, killing all 58 aboard. The Lockheed Constellation strayed into Bulgarian airspace and was attacked twice, breaking apart near Petrich. Israel protested, but the International Court of Justice declined jurisdiction in 1959. Bulgaria paid $195,000 in 1963 for 22 Israeli victims.

On July 27, 1955, Bulgarian MiG-15 fighters shot down El Al Flight 402, a Lockheed Constellation carrying 51 passengers and 7 crew from London to Tel Aviv, after it strayed from its assigned airway and entered Bulgarian airspace. The aircraft was attacked twice, broke apart in midair, and fell near Petrich, killing all aboard. Israel lodged a vehement protest and sent an investigative mission, but Bulgarian officials restricted access. The case went to the International Court of Justice, which ruled in 1959 that it lacked jurisdiction. A compensation agreement in 1963 saw Bulgaria pay $195,000 for 22 Israeli victims. The article notes the first officer, Pinchas Ben-Porat, a pioneer of Israeli aviation, and the captain, Stanley Reginald Hinks. The disaster was unprecedented for El Al, then only six years old. The article's narrative voice is factual and restrained, relying on historical records and quotes from the time.