Mrkonjić Grad incident
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The Mrkonjić Grad incident was the shooting down of a United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 by a Bosnian Serb Army SA-6 surface-to-air missile near Mrkonjić Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 2, 1995. The American pilot, Scott O'Grady, ejected safely and was rescued six days later, on June 8. The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines is loosely based on this event.
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[edit] The incident
The pilots of the two aircraft involved, Scott "Zulu" O'Grady (call sign "Basher 52", pronounced "Basher Five-Two") and his flight lead, Capt. Robert G. "Wilbur" Wright (call sign: "Basher 51", pronounced "Basher Five-One"), were briefed on the morning of June 2 about the weather and enemy positions they could expect for their flight. The two pilots took off without incident and flew according to their assigned mission parameters.
The Bosnian Serb Army had unexpectedly moved a missile battery south and laid a trap for any incoming aircraft. They switched on their missile radars sparingly, giving the F-16 pilots little warning of their position, and fired two SAMs toward the jets. O'Grady was alerted by cockpit instruments that a missile was coming although, flying in clouds, he could not see it. The first missile exploded between the two F-16s. The second hit O'Grady's plane in the belly. As his aircraft broke apart from the damage of the missile strike, O'Grady ejected.
After landing, O'Grady abandoned his parachute and moved into the woods. He lay face down, cupping his camouflaged flight gloves over his head and ears so he could not be spotted in the brush. Within minutes a teenage boy and a man wandered past; then he saw armed men nearby. O'Grady evaded detection even though the search for him continued during his time on the ground. Part of this may be credited to his military SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape) training, which taught him how to obtain water and food, evade detection, and avoid medical dangers like hypothermia, useful since he left his survival equipment back at base.
[edit] The rescue
O'Grady waited to radio for help, because he was under the impression that downed pilots are often captured after calling for help too soon, giving away their position. If he had followed standard procedures, it is possible he could have been rescued sooner, according to the U.S. Marines who were searching for him at the time. On June 6 O'Grady signaled his location, using a little of the small reserve of his radio's battery power each time he went on the air. The next day, just after 2:00 AM, he spoke into the radio. An American voice responded, and on June 8, 1995, he was rescued by United States Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit based on the USS Kearsarge.
On 14 August, a USAF MQ-1 Predator UAV was shot down in the same area, exposing the increasing effectiveness of Bosnian Serb anti-aircraft units.[1][2]
[edit] See also
- Banja Luka incident when Wright, the aforementioned lead pilot on O'Grady's mission, shot down three "Jastrebs".
- Jugoslovensko Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo
- Army of Republika Srpska
- Republika Srpska Air Force
- Behind Enemy Lines (film)
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mrkonjić Grad incident |
Coordinates: 44°24′12.36″N 17°2′52.46″E / 44.4034333°N 17.0479056°E
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