A Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashes near Gabare, Bulgaria, killing 73.

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines was Bulgaria's government-owned flag carrier airline between 1947 and 2002. During the 1970s, the airline became a significant European carrier. The company encountered financial instability following the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Despite managing to continue operations, following the start of the 21st century and a controversial privatisation, it declared bankruptcy in 2002. Balkan was liquidated in late October 2002. Bulgaria Air was appointed Balkan's successor in December 2002.

The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners, it can operate from unpaved airfields.

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 107 was an accident that occurred on 16 March 1978, when a Tupolev Tu-134 operated by Balkan Bulgarian Airlines crashed on an international flight from Sofia Airport to Warsaw Airport. All 73 passengers and crew died in the crash. As of 2024, it remains the deadliest accident in Bulgarian aviation history. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown.

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the tenth largest within the European Union and the sixteenth-largest country in Europe by area. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.