Croatia’s defence minister resigns after fatal plane crash

ZAGREB, Croatia – Croatia’s defence minister resigned Thursday after an air force training plane crashed in the southwest of the country, killing both crew members.

Damir Krsticevic said he is stepping down after another Croatian military aircraft, a helicopter, also crashed three months ago, killing two pilots.

“We have to be transparent” and take responsibility for the crashes, Krsticevic said.

The Defence Ministry ministry said the Zlin single-engine aircraft crashed at around 4 p.m. local time Thursday during a routine training flight. Officials did not say what might have caused the plane to go down in a thinly-populated near the central Adriatic town of Zadar.

Photos from the scene show the small plane’s wreckage in flames, partly wedged under a large bush near the walls of what appears to be a private house.

The plane had taken off from an air base at Zadar.