List of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Yugoslav Wars

This is a list of aviation shootdowns accidents, and incidents during the Yugoslav Wars. It includes helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned aircraft losses from the Ten-Day War (1991), the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), the Bosnian War (1992–1995), the Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–1998), the Kosovo War (1998–1999), and the Insurgency in Macedonia (2001).

• 27 June 1991 – A Yugoslav Air Force SOKO HO-42 (licensed-built Aérospatiale Gazelle) was shot down over Ljubljana by Slovenian forces using a Strela-2M MANPADS while delivering breads to a besieged Yugoslav Army barracks.^[1]
• 27 June 1991 – A Yugoslav Air Force Mi-8T was shot by small arms and later downed with a Strela-2M MANPADS near Ig. Three crew died.^[2]

• (2) 15 September 1991 – Two An-2R (registration YU-BBN and YU-BOZ) of Privredna Avijacija Osijek were damaged beyond repair by an airstrike at Varaždin Airport.^[3]
• (2) 19 September 1991 – Two An-2R (registration YU-BHU and YU-BOC) of Privredna Avijacija Osijek were damaged beyond repair by an airstrike at Osijek Airport.^[3]
• 19 September 1991 – A Yugoslav NJ-22 Orao was hit by Strela-2M MANPADS over Đakovo and crashed near Ferkusevac. The pilot, Lt. Col. Muse Begić, ejected and was taken prisoner.^[4]
• 4 October 1991 – A Yugoslav Mi-8T was damaged by Croatian anti-aircraft guns near Donji Andrijevci and crash-landed in Bosnia. Three crew members and four passengers were captured by Croatian forces.^[5]
• 5 October 1991 – A Yugoslav SOKO HO-42 was shot down near Konavle.^[6]
• 9 November 1991 – A Croatian An-2R (former YU-BKB) crashed during take off from Đakovo, all five crew survived.^[3]
• (2) 15 November 1991 – Croatian forces claim that their anti-aircraft artillery shot down two Yugoslav J-21 Jastreb ground-attack aircraft (one confirmed) during the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels.^[7]
• 2 December 1991 – A Croatian An-2R (former YU-BOP) was shot down near Vinkovci by a 2K12 Kub (NATO: SA-6 Gainful) air defence battery during a bombing mission. All four crew were killed.^[3]
• 1992 European Community Monitor Mission helicopter downing (7 January 1992): A Yugoslav MiG-21 shot down an Italian Army Agusta-Bell AB-206L helicopter on an EU mission at Podrute, south west of Varaždin, Croatia.^[8]
• 14 September 1993 – A Croatian MiG-21 was hit by a Serb 2K12 Kub over Gvozd (then Vrginmost) after a successful strike on Serb positions at Vranovina, south of Topusko: the pilot, Miroslav Peris, was killed in action when his aircraft exploded in flames near Stipan.^[9]
• 2 May 1995 – A Croatian MiG-21 piloted by Rudolf Perešin was shot down by Serb anti-aircraft fire while on a ground support mission near Stara Gradiška,^[10] in the course of Operation Flash. Perešin was killed in action.^[11]

• 24 June 1992 – A Croatian MiG-21 was shot down over northern Bosnia while attempting to suppress the shelling of Slavonski Brod. The pilot was killed.^[12][13]
• 17 July 1992 – A Serb Mi-8T was shot at by Croatian forces and crashed near Gradačac. Three crew killed.^[14]
• 3 September 1992 – An Italian Air Force G.222 transport aircraft of the 46ª Brigata Aerea was shot down when approaching Sarajevo airfield, while conducting a United Nations relief mission. It crashed 18 miles (29 km) from the airfield; a NATO rescue mission was aborted when 2 USMC CH-53 helicopters came under small arms fire. The cause of the crash was determined to be a surface-to-air missile, but it was not clear who fired it. Everyone on board – four Italian crew members and four French passengers – died in the crash.^[15][16]
• 26 March 1993 – An E-2C Hawkeye of the VAW-124, operating from USS Theodore Roosevelt, crashed over the Adriatic Sea. Five crew killed.^[17]
• 12 April 1993 – A French Air Force Mirage 2000C of the 5e Escadre de Chasse crashed over the Adriatic Sea during aerial refueling. Pilot rescued.^[17]
• 11 August 1993 – A USAF F-16C of the 23rd Fighter Squadron crashed over the Adriatic Sea due to mechanical failure. Pilot rescued.^[17]
• 12 February 1994 – An F-14B Tomcat of the VF-103 crashed into the Adriatic Sea after a mid-air collision with an F/A-18C Hornet. Both aircraft operating from USS Saratoga. F-14B crews were rescued, while the F/A-18C was able to land in Italy.^[17]
• 16 February 1994 – A USAF F-16C of the 526th Fighter Squadron crashed at Portorož, Slovenia due to engine failure. Pilot rescued.^[17]
• (4) 28 February 1994 – Banja Luka incident: four USAF F-16s shot down four Serb J-21 Jastrebs after the latter bombed a Bosnian ammunition factory in Novi Travnik, in violation of the no-fly zone established by NATO.^[18]
• 27 March 1994 – A French Naval Aviation Super Étendard of the Flottille 11F, operating from the aircraft carrier Clemenceau, crashed over the Adriatic Sea. Pilot rescued.^[19]
• 16 April 1994 – A Sea Harrier FRS.1 of the 801 Naval Air Squadron, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, was brought down by an Igla-1 surface-to-air missile^[20] fired by the Army of Republika Srpska while attempting to bomb two Bosnian Serb tanks over Gorazde.^[21] The pilot, Lieutenant Nick Richardson, ejected and landed in ARBiH-controlled territory.^[22]
• 24 April 1994 – An F/A-18C Hornet of the VFA-83, operating from USS Saratoga, crashed over the Adriatic Sea. Pilot killed.^[17]
• 31 July 1994 – An Antonov An-26B registration UR-26207 of Air Ukraine, operating on behalf of the United Nations, was shot down by ground fire and crashed near Saborsko, Croatia. All seven people aboard were killed.^[23]
• 19 November 1994 – A J-22 Orao of the Republika Srpska Air Force crashed near Cazin. Pilot killed.^[24]
• / (3) 3 December 1994 – An ARBiH Mi-8MTV-1 destined for the Bihać pocket crashed on takeoff at the Lučko Airfield, near Zagreb. There were no fatalities. Two other Mi-8MTV-1 owned by the ARBiH and Croatian Air Force were damaged beyond repair in the crash.^[25]
• 15 December 1994 – A Sea Harrier FRS.1 of the 800 Naval Air Squadron, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, crashed over the Adriatic Sea. Pilot rescued.^[17]
• 31 December 1994 – An Il-76TD registration EW-76836 of Bel-Air Belarusian Airlines overran the runway during bad weather at Sarajevo Airport and was damaged beyond repair. No casualties.^[17]
• 26 January 1995 – A USAF F-16C of the 510th Fighter Squadron crashed over the Adriatic Sea. Pilot killed.^[17]
• 7 May 1995 – An ARBiH Mi-8 on a medical evacuation flight from Srebrenica to Živinice was shot down by Bosnian Serb air defenses near Žepa, leaving 12 dead and 10 injured.^[26]
• 28 May 1995 – An ARBiH Mi-8 carrying Bosnian foreign minister Irfan Ljubijankić was shot down by a Bosnian Serb 2K12 Kub air defence battery near Cetingrad, on the border between Bosnia and Croatia, killing all seven on board.^[27]
• 2 June 1995 – A USAF F-16C of the 512th Fighter Squadron piloted by Captain Scott O’Grady was shot down by a Serb 2K12 Kub. The pilot was rescued by the US Marine Corps seven days later.^[28]
• 10 June 1995 – A Croatian Mil Mi-24V was destroyed in a crash near Drvar, northwestern Bosnia. The engine and some other components managed to be salvaged.^[29]
• 21 June 1995 – A Jaguar GR.1 of the No. 54 Squadron RAF crashed over the Adriatic Sea due to engine failure. Pilot rescued.^[17]
• 11 August 1995 – A USAF RQ-1 Predator s/n 94-3008 was shot down over Bosnia.^[30]
• 14 August 1995 – A USAF RQ-1 Predator s/n 94-3002 crashed in Bosnia due to engine sensor failure.^[30]
• 14 August 1995 – A Lynx AH Mk.7 of the 3 Regiment Army Air Corps crashed over the Adriatic Sea during a training mission. Four crew killed and one rescued.^[17]
• 22 August 1995 – One ARBiH Mi-8T crashed near Goražde, in eastern Bosnia.^[31]
• 29 August 1995 – A USAF U-2R of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing crashed during take off at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom. Pilot killed. The aircraft was intended to flew over Bosnia for a recon mission.^[17]
• 30 August 1995 – A French Air Force Mirage 2000N-K2 of the Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne was shot down over Bosnia by a 9K38 Igla MANPADS, fired by air defence units of Army of Republika Srpska during Operation Deliberate Force. Both pilots were captured by Serbian forces.^[32]
• 8 September 1995 – A Croatian Mil Mi-24V was destroyed between Glamoč and Šipovo, in northwestern Bosnia, though it is disputed whether it was because of an accident or due to hostile fire.^[31]

• 1 December 1997 – The Kosovo Liberation Army claims to have shot down a Yugoslav Cessna 310 near Pristina using Strela-2M MANPADS.^[33][34] Local observers dispute this claim and attribute the crash to bad weather.^[33]

• (2) 24 March 1999 – Two Yugoslav Air Force MiG-29 were shot down near Belgrade and over Kosovo by two USAF F-15C with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.^[35][36]
• 24 March 1999 – A Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16AM J-063 flown by Major Peter Tankink shot down one Yugoslav MiG-29, flown by Lt. Col. Milutinović, with an AMRAAM missile. The pilot of the stricken jet ejected safely.^[37][38] This marked the first air-to-air kill made by a Dutch fighter since World War 2.^[39]
• 24 March 1999 – A Yugoslav J-22 Orao crashed into a hillside upon returning from a combat sortie on the first night of the conflict with NATO. The pilot, Lt. Col. Života Đurić, was killed.^[4]
• (2) 26 March 1999 – Two Yugoslav MiG-29s were shot down by two USAF F-15C with AMRAAM missiles near Tuzla, Bosnia.^[40][36]

• 27 March 1999 – 1999 F-117A shoot-down: An American F-117A Nighthawk stealth bomber was shot down over Belgrade by a Soviet made S-125E Neva (NATO: SA-3 Goa). The pilot ejected safely and the plane's wreckage was recovered by Serbian special forces. It remains the only stealth aircraft ever to be shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
• 17 April 1999 – A USAF RQ-1 Predator s/n 95-3017 was lost over Bosnia.^[30]
• 26 April 1999 – A US Army AH-64A Apache attack helicopter crashed in northern Albania, injuring both crew.^[41]
• 2 May 1999 – A USAF F-16CG was shot down by an S-125 Neva near Nakučani, in western Serbia. Its pilot, Lt. Col. David Goldfein, 555th Fighter Squadron commander, managed to eject and was later rescued in a combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) mission.^[42][43] The remains of this aircraft are on display in the Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum, Belgrade International Airport.
• 2 May 1999 – A US Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II of the VMA-231 crashed in the Adriatic during final approach to USS Kearsarge. The pilot ejected safely.^[44][45]
• 4 May 1999 – A lone Yugoslav MiG-29 flown by Lt. Col. Milenko Pavlović attempted to intercept a large NATO formation that was returning to base, having just bombed the pilot's hometown, Valjevo. It was engaged by a pair of USAF F-16CJs from the 78th Fighter Squadron^[46] and shot down with an AMRAAM,^[47] killing the pilot. The falling wreckage was also hit by a Strela-2M mistakenly fired by the Yugoslav Army.
• 5 May 1999 – A US Army AH-64A Apache attack helicopter crashed in northern Albania, killing both crew.^[48]
• 13 May 1999 – A USAF RQ-1 Predator s/n 95-3019 was lost over Kosovo.^[30]
• 19 May 1999 – A USAF RQ-1 Predator s/n 95-3021 was lost over Kosovo.^[30]
• 11 June 1999 – A Lockheed Hercules C.1 of the No. 47 Squadron RAF with 9 crew members aboard crashed during a night takeoff at the Kukës air base in Kukës, northern Albania.^[45] Although there were no injuries, much of the aircraft was destroyed.^[49]
• unknown date 1999 – A US Army RQ-5 Hunter was shot down by a Yugoslav Mi-8 using its door gunner's 7.62 mm machine gun. It was the first RQ-5 loss during the campaign.^[50]

• 17 March 2001 – A Macedonian Mi-17's rotor blades struck a pole at Popova Šapka and crashed. A crew member was killed, two seriously injured and 19 passengers has minor injuries.^[51]

• List of aircraft shootdowns

• Ripley, Tim (2001). Conflict in the Balkans: 1991–2000 (Osprey Combat Aircraft series #24). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-290-3.