The plane came down in thick fog killing all on board

The cause was "mistakes... in regard to location and height while approaching Mostar airport", Bosnia's transport and communications minister told reporters.

The official report into February's crash concluded that the aircraft worked well, but the crew miscalculated key flight data in stormy weather.

President Boris Trajkovski's plane went down in heavy fog near Mostar airport.

The Macedonian leader was en route from Skopje to an international investment conference in Bosnia. Six advisers and the two pilots also died.

The final approach

The inquiry into the accident was conducted by a team of Bosnian, Macedonian and US aviation experts.

According to the report, as quoted by Associated Press, the crew embarked on its final approach curve to the airport too soon in relation to the distance to the runway.

At another point the plane reportedly lost the beacon signal from the airport for 18 seconds, which should lead to an aborted approach.

But the crew decided to try to land, the report said.

Trajkovski

Mr Trajkovski was Macedonia's second president since the Balkan country gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

He was considered instrumental to Macedonia's fragile peace process after an ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001.