1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 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 / 42.59833°N 18.25222°E |
| Aircraft | |
| 73-1149, the aircraft involved, seen in 1993 | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing CT-43A |
| Operator | United States Air Force |
| Call sign | IFO21 |
| Registration | 73-1149 |
| Flight origin | Zagreb International Airport, Zagreb, Croatia |
| Stopover | Tuzla International Airport, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Destination | Dubrovnik Airport, Dubrovnik, Croatia |
| Occupants | 35 |
| Passengers | 30 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 35 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 3 April 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 a 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 corporate CEOs. While attempting an instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport, the airplane crashed into a mountainside. All aboard died in the crash except one who died en route to a hospital.
The aircraft was operated by the 76th Airlift Squadron of the 86th Airlift Wing, based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Unlike commercial 737s, the military CT-43A version was equipped with neither a flight data recorder nor a cockpit voice recorder.