What happened
On the afternoon of the accident, a United States Air Force Boeing T-4/3A (a Boeing 737-200) was conducting a regional mission involving a delegation of officials. Operating under call sign IFO21, the aircraft initially flew from Zagreb to Tuzla, where passengers briefly deplaned. Due to parking constraints at the Tuzla airfield, the aircraft was repositioned to Split before returning to Tuzla to pick up the passengers for the next leg of the journey toward Dubrovnik.
The flight departed Tuzla at 13:55. During the descent, the aircraft was cleared through several flight levels, eventually reaching FL100. Upon being transferred to Dubrovnik Approach/Tower, the crew was instructed to fly direct to the Kolocep (KLP) NDB and subsequently cleared to descend to 5,000 feet. At 14:52, the crew reported being 16 nautical miles from the airport and was cleared to descend to 4,000 feet with instructions to report crossing the KLP beacon.
At 14:53, the aircraft crossed the KLP beacon, which served as the Final Approach Fix, at an altitude of 4,100 feet. At this stage, the aircraft was traveling at a high speed and was not fully configured for the approach. Although the crew notified the tower they were inbound, they began the approach without receiving formal approach clearance from the Dubrovnik Tower. The aircraft then followed a course of 110 degrees, deviating from the published 119-degree approach course. The aircraft continued on this incorrect track while descending to 2,200 feet. At 14:57, the aircraft struck a rocky mountainside approximately 1.7 NM northeast of the runway 12 centerline. There were 35 fatalities and no survivors.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified that the aircraft deviated from the published NDB approach course by tracking 110 degrees instead of the required 119 degrees. Additionally, the aircraft was noted to be flying too fast and too high during the approach phase, and the crew initiated the approach without receiving the necessary clearance from the tower.