A Fatal Approach
The only instrument approach into Dubrovnik’s Cilipa Airport available to the U.S. Air Force pilots of Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown’s plane Wednesday wasn’t designed for the low visibility and low ceiling reported there about the time of the crash.
Two non-directional radio beacons guided the plane toward the runway, but the pilots needed to be able to see the airport from about two miles out at 2,150 feet before attempting a landing.
If not, the procedure called for a climbing right turn (south) up to 4,000 feet at the first beacon to hold for another attempt. Instead the plane crashed into a 2,300-foot mountain left (north) of the airport.
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