The next morning, a Serbian chopper flew so close to him he could see the men’s faces. He stayed hidden and did not use his radio not on the first day – that is how downed pilots get caught. More men came, firing randomly into the forest before moving off. Moments later, a man and a boy stopped within six feet of him, looked around, then walked off. He hit the ground and ran – leaving his backup radio and the bulk of his supplies. Fortunately, as he reached the treeline, a strong wind blew him away from the road and deeper into the trees. From their mismatched clothing he guessed they were not military. It took him 25 minutes to descend, and sure enough, a truck was headed his way. O’Grady’s best bet lay with the military. There were also paramilitary groups and opportunists with far less discipline and even fewer scruples. His bright white, orange, green, and brown parachute was advertising his arrival over clear skies.ĭuring the Bosnian War, it was not just the Serbian military who fought. Thanks to adrenaline, he did not realize his face and neck were burnt, but that was the least of his problems. The F-16 burst into flames, and he watched in horror as it plummeted. Wright saw it coming and tried to warn O’Grady – too late.

The 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Airbase on April 1, 1994 With a top speed of over 1,864 miles an hour, it hit the F-16 within 10 seconds from launch. The beam hit O’Grady’s plane, then bounced down to the oncoming missile which honed in for the kill. The Serbs fired a second missile and briefly turned their radar on. As soon as it matched their altitude, it exploded between them as they flew over a mile apart.Īltitude confirmed. Without radar guidance, the missile was invisible to the Americans. That short radar signal had given the Serbs the planes’ speed, heading, and altitude. Wright’s radar alarm briefly went off at 2:50 PM, but NATO thought it was a false alarm. They were.ĭown below, a Soviet 2K12 Kub, also known as an SA-6, was ready. Although the Serbs had surface-to-air missiles, F-16s carried a device that warned pilots if they were being tracked by radar. They reached Bosnian airspace thirty minutes later and began their patrol. O’Grady (center) at a press conference after his rescue, with Captains Hanford (left) and WrightĪt 1:15 PM, he and Captain Robert Wright each took off in their F-16 Fighting Falcons. A member of the 555 th Fighter Squadron, he was living in the Italian village of Aviano because of its air base – headquarters of the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). O’Grady knew all this as he got ready for work on June 2, 1995. If they succeeded, they would sometimes vent their rage on surviving pilots. The Serbs retaliated by shooting down NATO planes. NATO then backed this up with Operation Deny Flight.

Movie behind enemy lines