When there's a war on, sometimes you miss the interesting news from the last one. In late 2006, the US Air Force declassified the identity of the F-117 Nighthawk pilot who was hit by a Serbian surface-to-air missile on March 27, 1999 and forced to eject from his stealth "fighter". With the model scheduled to be taken out of service this spring, Lt.-Col. Dale Zelko is likely to go down in history as the only F-117 pilot ever to be shot down by an enemy. His rescue just outside Belgrade makes for a remarkable story, the more so because he had the amazing presence of mind to use his survival radio to contact orbiting AWACS and KC-135 aircraft with his position details while still parachuting to the ground. The wreckage of his plane is still the pride of the Air Museum in Belgrade.
Comments (1)
Didn't this rescue get written into the pilot episode of JAG (worthless info courtesy of an autistic mind)
Posted by Half Canadian | January 25, 2008 10:02 AM
Posted on January 25, 2008 10:02