Interflug flight 450 left Berlin-Schönefeld Airport at 16:30 local time. The number of passengers – mainly tourists bound for the
Bulgarian Black Sea Coast – almost reached the full capacity of the airliner.
Takeoff proceeded normally, and the aircraft then headed southeast towards
Czechoslovakia, now the
Czech Republic. At 16:43, thirteen minutes into the flight and above the city of
Cottbus, East Germany, the crew reported problems with the
elevators; the aircraft was by this time approximately 10 degrees off its designated route. The flight requested a return to Schönefeld but did not think the situation was critical enough for an immediate landing at the nearest airport. At 16:51, the crew carried out a
fuel dump to decrease landing weight. Meanwhile,
flight attendants reported smoke in the rear section of the cabin. With Berlin-Schönefeld Airport already in sight a few kilometres south, the flight issued a
mayday at 16:59:25, indicating problems controlling the aircraft's altitude. At this time, the flight crew was likely unaware that the fire had been consuming portions of the rear of the aircraft. A few seconds later, the
tail section, weakened by the fire, separated from the aircraft, causing it to enter an uncontrolled descent. Due to the forces of the dive, the rest of the aircraft broke up in mid-air, with the debris landing in the town of
Königs Wusterhausen, East Germany. == Cause ==