Incident
A United States Air Force Boeing T-43A, the military designation for the Boeing 737-200, was destroyed after impacting a hillside during an NDB approach to Dubrovnik Airport, Croatia. All 35 occupants on board were killed.
Flight History
The aircraft was engaged in a mission to transport United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and a delegation of industry executives for regional visits. The flight originated from Zagreb at 06:24 hours with a call sign of IFO21. After an uneventful flight, the aircraft landed at Tuzla at 07:15. Passengers deplaned, and the aircraft repositioned to Split due to insufficient ramp space at Tuzla. The aircraft returned to Tuzla at 12:47, where passengers reboarded. The accident flight departed Tuzla for Dubrovnik at 13:55.
Accident Sequence
After crossing Split at 14:34, the flight was cleared to descend from FL210 to FL140, then further to FL100. At 14:45, south of Split VOR, control was transferred to Dubrovnik Approach/Tower. The controller cleared IFO21 direct to the Kolocep (KLP) NDB. After opposite-direction traffic was cleared, IFO21 was cleared to descend to 5,000 feet. At 14:52, the crew reported being 16 NM from the airport and were cleared to 4,000 feet, instructed to report crossing the KLP beacon. At 14:53, the aircraft crossed KLP, the Final Approach Fix, at 4,100 feet and began the approach without clearance from Dubrovnik Tower. The aircraft was slightly high and fast and not fully configured. At 14:54, the copilot called "We're inside the locator, inbound" and was cleared for the NDB approach to runway 12. The aircraft tracked a course of 110 degrees after crossing KLP, instead of the published 119 degrees. The aircraft descended to 2,200 feet, consistent with the minimum descent altitude of 2,150 feet. At 14:57, the aircraft impacted a rocky mountainside approximately 1.7 NM left of the extended runway centerline and 1.8 NM north of the approach end of runway 12.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause was determined to be controlled flight into terrain. Findings included command failure to comply with directives requiring review of instrument approach procedures not approved by the Defense Department; preflight planning errors combined with errors made during the flight by the aircrew; and improper design of the Dubrovnik NDB.