1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash
On April 3, 1996, a United States Air Force Boeing CT-43A (Flight IFO-21) crashed on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia, while on an official trade mission. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-200 originally built as T-43A navigational trainer and later converted into a CT-43A executive transport aircraft, was carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people, including high ranking CEOs. While attempting an instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport, the airplane crashed into a mountainside. An Air Force technical sergeant, Shelly Kelly, survived the initial impact, but died en route to a hospital. Everyone else on board died at the scene of the crash.
A USAF MH-53J Pave Low helicopter hovers near the wreckage of Flight IFO-21. The tail number of the accident aircraft is shortened as 31149. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 3 April 1996 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Dubrovnik Airport, Dubrovnik, Croatia 42°35′54″N 18°15′08″E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing CT-43A |
| Operator | United States Air Force |
| Registration | 73-1149 |
| Flight origin | Zagreb International Airport, Zagreb, Croatia |
| Stopover | Tuzla International Airport, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina |
| Destination | Dubrovnik Airport, Dubrovnik, Croatia |
| Occupants | 35 |
| Passengers | 30 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 35 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The aircraft was operated by the 76th Airlift Squadron of the 86th Airlift Wing, based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Unlike civilian 737s, the military CT-43A version was equipped with neither a flight data recorder nor a cockpit voice recorder.