How a Nighthawk Was Shot Down

AllDayEntertainment

5/11/2025

Transcript

00:01It's the 27th of March, 1999.

00:04An F-117 Nighthawk tears through the dark stormy skies,

00:09low over the Serbian countryside.

00:11The pilot is Lieutenant Colonel Daryl Zalko,

00:14and his mission is to bomb the command center

00:17of the Serbian Air Force in Belgrade.

00:20It's the headquarters of the force

00:22that's going to try and stop him on his mission tonight.

00:26Zalko is escorted by F-16 Vipers

00:29with missiles that can lock on and destroy enemy radar.

00:33As he approaches the Serbian border,

00:35he hears a command come over the radio.

00:37This is Joint Forces Air Component Commander.

00:39Because of the bad weather,

00:41the escorting Vipers are ordered to immediately turn back

00:44and return to base.

00:46He's on his own.

00:47If he's to make it home safely,

00:49he has to remain undetected.

00:52A ghost.

00:54Fortunately, he's in the most advanced operational fighter bomber

00:57that has ever flown.

00:59The Nighthawk's stealth capabilities make the 65-foot-long bomber

01:03appear on radar as if it was the size of a tennis ball,

01:06allowing it, so far, to go unchallenged in every mission.

01:10That is, every mission until this one.

01:14On the ground, an anti-air missile battery is waiting for him.

01:18It's under command of Lieutenant Colonel Zoltan Dani.

01:24Serbian spies have let him know that the enemy aircraft are coming,

01:28and he thinks today is his best chance to take down one of the elusive ghosts.

01:35Sweep the skies, Dani orders,

01:37and the P-18 early warning radar comes to life.

01:41They think, at its lowest frequency,

01:44it may be capable of detecting the enemy planes.

01:47But it also detects clouds and rain,

01:49resulting in a screen covered in fake signals.

01:52But, looking closely, Dani sees something.

01:56One tiny dot moving through the masses of clouds.

02:00A tiny dot headed right towards them.

02:04The wind is here.

02:07Turn off the Nishansky radar.

02:09Turn off.

02:10We have 20 seconds.

02:12We don't have a goal.

02:13We don't have a goal.

02:14We continue to search for a goal.

02:17Zaukos Nighthawk speeds towards his objective,

02:20the computer preparing the drop.

02:23Let's go again.

02:24Fi-1 and Fi-2.

02:25Find the goal.

02:27Dani double-checks the low frequency radar.

02:30He can see the target.

02:31It's right in front of them.

02:33But, he needs the SAM radar to get a lock.

02:36We don't have a goal.

02:37The men scan the sky just as instructed.

02:40We don't have a goal.

02:41Yet, the screens remain dead.

02:45But then, Zaukos opens his bomb bay,

02:49increasing the Nighthawk's radar signature

02:51just at the wrong moment.

02:53We have it. We have it.

02:55Fi-2, follow the goal.

02:57Fi-1, follow the goal.

02:59Let's go.

03:03Two missiles fire off the launcher in quick succession.

03:10Streaking across the sky,

03:12Zaukos drops his bombs.

03:15They follow the path designated by the laser

03:18and explode.

03:19He soars past the target.

03:22It's another mission success.

03:24And he ascends to six kilometers.

03:26But, a few seconds later,

03:29his cockpit is filled with the wail of an urgent alarm

03:32and his controls light up.

03:34It's a lock alert.

03:36Almost at the same time,

03:39he sees the two missiles illuminate the clouds below him

03:42and then break through.

03:44They're coming right at him.

03:46He immediately breaks into evasive maneuvers.

03:49He pulls his aircraft up to try and escape.

03:52He's pushed into his seat as he ascends,

03:54as the aircraft screams more warnings at him.

03:58The F-117 has no chaff.

04:00So with the missile locked on,

04:02it's entirely on the pilot's actions to try and evade the threat.

04:09Time slows.

04:11He knows.

04:16It's over.

04:18They got me.

04:20These are proximity missiles and should detonate near the aircraft.

04:24Somehow, the first missile malfunctions and races by his canopy.

04:29The second missile, though, doesn't malfunction.

04:32It explodes, sending out a cloud of sharp shrapnel

04:35that perforates the left wing of his Nighthawk.

04:38The entire left side is blasted to pieces,

04:42illuminating the night sky a fiery orange.

04:45The aircraft immediately loses control

04:47and is thrown into a wild spin.

04:50As the plane spins,

04:51Zalko is pinned to his seat

04:53and experiences severe G-forces.

04:56The spin increases in violence.

04:58Flashing warnings illuminate his controls

05:00and a bright flame shines through the cockpit windows

05:04as the landscape spins around him.

05:06He knows he's in a critical situation.

05:09Even ejection might prove fatal,

05:11but it's his only choice.

05:13He fights seven Gs of force,

05:15a hundred pounds pulling up on each of his arms.

05:17Fueled by adrenaline,

05:18he gets hold of the ejection handles and pulls.

05:22In the blink of an eye,

05:23the canopy is blasted away

05:25and his seat rockets out of the cockpit.

05:27For one and a half, almost eternal seconds,

05:32Zalko free falls through the air,

05:34stuck to his chair.

05:36He's barely conscious

05:37and he thinks that the seat's still inside the plane

05:39and that the ejection seat has malfunctioned.

05:42But then he feels the tug of the opening parachute

05:46and sees his burning Nighthawk tumbling away into the night.

05:50The violence of the spinning wreck is replaced by a total calm.

05:57Zalko breathes heavily as he takes it all in.

06:00He's alive,

06:01but then another thought hits him.

06:03Man, Mom is not going to be happy about this.

06:08He knows the enemy are going to be searching for him.

06:10If he can't fall to the ground unseen,

06:12he can still get rescued and get back home with no further complications.

06:16But then he looks up.

06:20He notices his parachute is bright orange.

06:25He might as well be waving a flare.

06:27With his hopes of going unseen dashed,

06:29he takes out a survival radio to report he's alive and well.

06:33Mayday, mayday, mayday.

06:35Vega 3-1.

06:36Vega 3-1 going down.

06:39To his massive relief, the mayday is heard.

06:42Vega 3-1.

06:43Magic copies your mayday.

06:44Last position.

06:46Vega 3-1.

06:47Last position in aircraft.

06:49Point after target.

06:51Zalko sees a ditch from above.

06:54He doesn't get to say much more before hitting the ground.

06:59He's now alone.

07:01Deep behind enemy lines.

07:04Zalko runs for the ditch he saw on the way down.

07:08He quickly paints himself with mud and tries to hide as he awaits rescue.

07:14News of the downed plain quickly spreads.

07:19Serbians waste no time and rapidly initiate a search.

07:25All around him the activity gains momentum as more and more men appear.

07:30Men of the Serbian army comb the area.

07:33Gradually joined by local policemen and civilians as the news spreads.

07:37Everybody wants to find him.

07:40Flashlights illuminate the fields and trucks roll past on the nearby highway.

07:45Zalko can do nothing but sit and pray.

07:48Then he hears a rustle in the undergrowth getting louder.

07:50Just outside his ditch someone is searching.

07:53He stays still and quiet like a rock quieting his breath.

07:59He hears panting and snuffling.

08:02It's a dog.

08:03Slowly and carefully Zalko pulls out his knife.

08:14The dog gets closer.

08:15He weighs his options.

08:20Should he kill the dog?

08:22If he did could he do it silently?

08:25He finally makes up his mind to spare the dog.

08:27Reasoning that if he did kill it the owner would be quick to follow.

08:36Then to Zalko's massive relief.

08:38The dog turns.

08:39Jumps up.

08:41And leaves.

08:45The radio crackles to life.

08:48Sandy 01.

08:49Vega 31.

08:50Over.

08:51Zalko's eyes go wide.

08:52They're here.

08:56Go ahead Sandy 01.

08:57Over.

08:59Vega 31.

09:00Is it okay to come down there?

09:01Zalko doesn't respond.

09:02He peeks out of his hiding spot searching the area for threats.

09:05Flashlights shine in the distance.

09:10Vega 31.

09:11If you don't answer we're gonna try this later.

09:14He makes his decision.

09:16Yeah okay.

09:17Let's go for it.

09:21Zalko turns on his infrared strobe.

09:25As a chopper races into the area.

09:29But the strobe fails.

09:30And the helicopter can't see him.

09:36He curses his luck.

09:37And desperately checks for threats.

09:40He has a backup.

09:41But it's nowhere near as subtle.

09:43But.

09:44It's now or never.

09:45Zalko makes a quick decision.

09:48And pops a flare.

09:54Bright light spills all around him.

09:56And illuminates the area.

09:57Pointing out his position for the rescue helicopter.

10:00And the enemy alike.

10:03There he is.

10:06The helicopter sweeps in rapidly.

10:09As the enemy also closes in.

10:11At the same time in the distance.

10:13Flashlights from enemy patrols are all pointed towards the flare.

10:17But then another transmission comes through the radio.

10:20Snuff your flare.

10:21It blinds our night vision.

10:23Thinking quickly.

10:24Zalko rushes to take the flare and dunk it in the mud.

10:26Just as the rescue helicopter comes in to land.

10:29Right in front of him.

10:31And is greeted by an American rescue team.

10:35How you feeling sir?

10:36Great.

10:37Now let's get out of here.

10:40The field is blasted with wind.

10:41As a helicopter rises up into the air.

10:43And exits a scene with just seconds to spare.

10:45Before the enemy spills over the landing site.

10:49Zoltan Dani and his crew.

10:51To this day remain the only team to have downed a stealth aircraft in combat.

10:55When talking about the incident Dani would later say.

10:58When it hit.

11:00It felt very good.

11:01It felt very good.

11:02The US didn't destroy the wreck.

11:03And the Serbian forces salvaged the mortally wounded Nighthawk unimpeded.

11:04And today you can still see pieces of Zalko's aircraft in the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade.

11:08Zalko always expressed a desire to find the man who shot him down.

11:31find the man who shot him down and congratulate him. He finally got his wish in 2011 just 12

11:37years after the incident. The end of the 20th century was packed with unforgettable military

11:44stories. Here's another one, what many call the last tank battle of the century.

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