1996 Croatia USAF CT - 43 crash On April 3 , 1996 , United States Air Force Flight IFO - 21 , a United States Air Force Boeing CT - 43A Bobcat crashed on approach to Dubrovnik , Croatia while on an official trade mission . The aircraft , a Boeing 737 - 253 built as a Boeing CT - 43A Bobcat navigational trainer , was carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people , including " The New York Times " Frankfurt Bureau chief Nathaniel C . Nash . While attempting an instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport , the airplane crashed into a mountainside killing everyone on board . Air Force TSgt Shelly Kelly initially survived the impact of the crash with minor injuries , but died three hours later from an injury sustained after the crash in an ambulance . The aircraft was operated by 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 . Crash details . The official Air Force accident investigation board report noted several reasons that led the Boeing CT - 43A Bobcat , callsign IFO - 21 ( short for Implementation Force ) , to crash . Chief among the findings was a " failure of command , aircrew error and an improperly designed instrument approach procedure " . Notably the inclement weather was not deemed a substantial contributing factor in the crash . The Boeing CT - 43A Bobcat used for this flight had formerly been a training aircraft that had been converted for distinguished visitor travel . The flight had been on an IFR NDB approach , which is a non - precision type of instrument approach , to Runway 12 when it strayed off course . Non - precision approaches are those that do not incorporate vertical guidance . While NDB approaches are essentially obsolete in the U . S . they are still used widely in other parts of the world . Because of their infrequent use in the U . S . many American pilots are not fully proficient in performing them ( a NASA survey showed that 60 % of U . S . transport - rated pilots had not flown an NDB approach in the last year ) . The investigation board determined that the approach used was not approved for Department of Defense aircraft , and should not have been used by the aircraft crew . The board determined that the particular NDB approach used required two operating ADF , the instrument used to fly such an approach , on board the aircraft , but this aircraft only had one . One was required to track the outbound course of 119° from the Kolocep NDB ( KLP ) . Another was required to observe when the aircraft had flown beyond the Cavtat NDB ( CV ) which marked the missed approach point . Further , the board noted that the approach was rushed , with the aircraft flying at above the proper final approach speed , and had not received the proper landing clearance from the control tower . The crash site , on a 2 , 300 ft ( 701 m ) hill , was 1 . 6 miles ( 2 . 6 km ) northeast of where the aircraft should have been on the inbound course to the NDB . The published NDB approach brings the inbound aircraft down a valley , and has a minimum descent height of 2 , 150 feet ( 655 m ) at the missed approach point ( where they should have climbed and turned to the right if the runway was not in view ) , which is below the elevation of the hills to the north . The runway is at 510 feet ( 155 . 4 m ) MSL . Five other aircraft had landed prior to the CT - 43A and had not experienced any problems with the navigational aids . There was no emergency call from the pilots , and they did not initiate a missed approach , even though they were beyond the missed approach point when they hit the hill at 2 : 57 PM local time . The area of the crash site is identified by a large ( 10 meter tall ) stainless steel cross on Stražišće peak . Hikers can reach the peak via the " Ronald Brown path " which is named in commemoration of the U . S . Secretary of Commerce who died in the crash . Head of navigation on Cilipi Airport , Niko Jerkuić , was found dead three days after the accident with a bullet wound in his chest . The crash is featured in episode 10 of the 4th season of the air - crash investigation television show Mayday , entitled Fog of War .