U.S. commerce secretary in plane crash in Balkans
April 3, 1996
Web posted at: 11:45 a.m. EST (1645 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A plane carrying U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashed Wednesday over the Adriatic Sea, where wreckage had been spotted, a White House spokesman said.
Government officials said Brown was aboard an Air Force T-43, the equivalent of a 737 commercial jet. He was visiting the region with 12 chief executive officers from American companies. Officials said there were about six passengers on the plane.
Press Secretary Mike McCurry confirmed that pieces of the craft had been seen floating in the water. He said President Clinton had canceled his Wednesday meetings, for now, to monitor developments.
Brown reportedly was flying from Tuzla, Bosnia, to the port city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is not clear whether the business executives were accompanying him on that leg of the trip.
Brown was traveling in the northeastern Bosnian government city of Tuzla during a three-day visit to the region.
He was leading a high-level American business delegation representing 15 companies specializing in infrastructure, transport, energy, tourism and financial services.
Meanwhile, reporters in Dubrovnik, who were awaiting Brown's arrival at the seaside airport were escorted by police back into the city. Observers at the airport said international peacekeeping helicopters and ships were in the area.
Dubrovnik is a port city and tourist center on the southern Adriatic coast about 300 miles south of the capital city of Zagreb.
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