Hammer 3 - F16 flameout over Kosovo

Hammer 3 - F16 flameout over Kosovo

Not much is yet known about this incident. It did occur, however, over the skies of Kosovo in late spring of 1999. The aircraft was based at Aviano Airbase, Italy. The pilot was quickly rescued.

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Hammer 33 (F-16C, Serial 88-0550)
- Pilot: ? (HMR3)

Hammer 31 (F-16C, Serial ?)
- Pilot: ? (HMR1)
***There may be a bit of confusion either among the pilots or myself. Later in the recording you will hear another callsign ending in "3" (Crank 73, or something of that nature), and Magic (AWACs) gets confused and says "Confirm again your callsign", since Hammer 33 ejected. Also confusion between Hammer One and Hammer Three (the incident pilot keeps asking "Hammer Three, can you hear me", usually with no response, since he is calling himself (if he is Hammer Three). Get it?

Unknown (possibly Hammer 32 or 34?)
- Pilot: ? (UKN1)

Crank (?) 73
- Pilot: ? (CRK73)

Magic Five-five
- AWACs E-3 Sentry (MAGIC55)

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MAGIC55?- "Hammer, did you guys take a hit? Hammer, status?"
- "Crank three magnum, three tango, one-five-four, twenty-four."
HMR3- "Okay, I've got a problem."
HMR1- "I got your mark (?)."
- "Hammer Three (unintelligible)."
HMR3- "Hammer Three's got engine problems now, lube low. Engine's--"
UKN1- "Hammer."
HMR3- "Hammer Three, can you hear me? Hammer One, can you hear me?"
HMR1- "Got you loud and clear. I've got a mark."
HMR3- "Okay, I'm headed westbound, I'm headed westbound now."
UKN1- "Hammer, lets ah. .lets ah retrograde west."
MAGIC55?- "Hammer, (?), retrograde west, (?)."
HMR3- "I'm gonna continue to glide as long as I can. Start findin' me boys!"
- (unintelligible)
MAGIC55- "Give me a flash, Hammer."
HMR3- "I'm gonna shut down the engine, I'm gonna try restart."
UKN1- "Hammer, your posit?"
MAGIC55- "Hammer, this is Magic, can you give me a flash?"
HMR3- "Unknown location. Passin' fourteen-thousand feet."
UKN1- "Hammer Three-three, you got the visual?"
- "Two-four-zero."
HMR3- "Roger, I'm headed two-four-zero. Thirteen-thousand feet."
MAGIC55- "Hammer three, Magic bullseye posit if able."
- "(?) three-four-two for seventeen for Hammer Three."
HMR3- "Engine's definetally quit, I'm glidin' her boys. Passin' ten-thousand. Three, ya got me..three you got me on--? Three, can you hear me?"
HMR1- "I've gotcha loud and clear now."
HMR3- "Roger, do you have me on radar?"
MAGIC55- "And Hammer Three, Magic Five-five, confirm your bullseye, two-six-zero, twenty miles, westbound."
HMR3- "I can't be positive off of that."
- "They've, ah, lost everything (?)." (explains why Hammer 33 does not know where he is at, lost all avionics and his "bullseye display".)
MAGIC55- "I've got a track from that, two-five-five, twenty-two, twenty-thousand, westbound." (AWACs has another "blip" on their radar scope near what he believes is Hammer 33's contact.)
- "Roger, (?)"
MAGIC55- "Copy."
UKN1- "Can you give us your posit from that?"
HMR3- "Negative (static for almost 8 seconds, talking about AAA)." (Hammer 33 sees some AAA and is trying to reference other pilots to where he is in relation to the AAA.)
UKN1- "Okay. We see that triple-a as well."
- "Hammer Three, whats, ah, your position above the cloud deck from that, ah, triple-a?"
UKN1- "Okay. Three's got a lock." (This pilot was able to lock his radar onto Hammer 33 and get his definate position.)
MAGIC55- Say bullseye posit if able.
UKN1- "That two-thirty. . .positio-position, two-thirty-two for twenty-eight."
MAGIC55- "Copy, contact there."
CRK73- "Three's contact there also."
MAGIC55- "Copy, confirm again your callsign."
- "Tell Hammer Three that I've got a lock on 'em."
CRK73- "Magic, CRANK(?) seven-three."
MAGIC55- "Seven-three Magic, go ahead."
CRK73- "Did you get the frequency to work some SAR assets with you?"
MAGIC55- "We're workin' on it right now."