The Croatian Air, Maritime and Railway Traffic Accident Investigation Agency has published a preliminary report on the accident involving a Beechcraft G36 Bonanza, registration D-ENTT, which crashed near Medulin Airfield on 4 June 2026. All four people on board, the pilot and three passengers, all Austrian nationals, were killed in the accident.

The aircraft had departed from Lienz-Nikolsdorf Airport in Austria bound for Medulin, with the flight lasting 57 minutes. According to the preliminary report, the flight to Istria proceeded normally, with no indication of difficulties in the pilot’s communication with air traffic control and no unusual elements in the aircraft’s recorded flight path. Following instructions from Pula Airport’s aerodrome control, the Bonanza was descending towards Medulin Airfield when, in the final approach phase, it crashed onto a flat grassy area about one kilometre southwest of the airfield.

The aircraft was completely destroyed on impact. There was no fire and no fuel spillage into the ground. The findings at the crash site are among the key elements of the preliminary report. Investigators state that the deformation of the propeller indicates it was not rotating at the moment of impact. No fuel was found in the tanks, nor in any other components of the fuel system.

In its preliminary report, the Agency identified the probable cause of the accident as an engine failure caused by fuel exhaustion, followed by an unsuccessful forced landing. The further course of the investigation will analyse the procedures related to the aircraft’s refuelling, the sequence of the forced landing, the condition of the aircraft and the pilot before the accident, as well as any other details that may prove relevant.

Although the preliminary report does not provide a detailed analysis of the aircraft’s final manoeuvres immediately before impact, available flight path data from FlightRadar24, as well as eyewitness statements, suggest the possibility that the aircraft experienced a loss of lift during a turn in the final phase of the approach. Since, according to the findings in the report, the engine was not operating at that moment, the aircraft had significantly limited ability to maintain the speed and energy required for a safe manoeuvre. In such circumstances, every turn increases the load on the wing and requires a higher speed to maintain lift, which means it is possible that the aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall in the final phase of flight.

This scenario should, for now, be viewed solely as a possible interpretation of the available external data, and not as an official conclusion of the investigation. The final circumstances of the accident will be known only after the Agency publishes its final report.

The Beechcraft G36 Bonanza is a single-engine piston aircraft of American manufacture, equipped with retractable landing gear and a 300-horsepower engine. According to the data stated in the report, the aircraft can carry up to six people, has a cruising speed of 326 km/h and a maximum range of 1,326 kilometres with full tanks and full load. The Bonanza is one of the longest continuously produced aircraft types in history and, due to its performance and equipment, is often used for regional business flights.

No safety recommendations have been issued at this stage. The Agency states that they will be defined, if necessary, after the investigation is completed.