On April 3, 1996, while on an official trade mission, the Air Force CT-43 (a modified Boeing 737) carrying U.S Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people crashed in Croatia.

While attempting an instrument approach to Čilipi airport, the airplane crashed into a mountainside. Everyone aboard was killed instantly except Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shelley Kelly, a flight attendant, who died while being transported to a hospital. The final Air Force investigation attributed the crash to pilot error and a poorly designed landing approach.[1]

In addition to gross pilot error and mediocre navigational equipment, the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Air Force determined that the aeronautical charts and cartographic data in and around the airfield were outdated or did not exist.

In the interest of aviation safety, the U.S. Congress funded the Ron Brown Airfield Initiative (RBAI).

BAE Systems developed ClearFlite® airfield obstruction identification software as part of this effort.