European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes sunday july 17,1994  Page 1. Rary duty at in Ciurlik this was the Crews first Mission in the theater. The Mission Crew commander had flown Only one Mission in the previous three months and according to the report was not qualified for duty. 9 22 , a two army uh-60 Black Hawk helicopters whose Home base was Gie Belstadt Germany departed from Diyarbakir Turkey. With the. Call signs Eagle 1 and Eagle 2, they were in. Route to the military coordination centers Headquarters in Lakhu Iraq inside the no Fly zone. Their identification Friend or foe equipment was on a frequency for flying in Turkey not Iraq. The Iff is an electronic system that is designed to help aircraft avoid Bing shot at by Friendly forces. Still the Azacs was Able to track them. 10 16 . A an a a he was programmed to appear on. The Azacs senior directors radar screen whenever it detected the Black Hawks Iff transmissions. 10 35 . A two air Force f-15cs took off from in Ciurlik to perform an initial fighter sweep of the no Fly zone. The pilots morning briefing included the movements of iraqi aircraft and Rio bile missile Sites As Wei As the political. Situation in Rwanda. But no one said that Black Hawks would be in the no Fly zone. Helicopters flying for the operations military coordination Center typically a were Given a High degree of Independence. Without adequate consideration for the threat of engagement from other operation provide Comfort aircraft a according to Andrusz report. No one Agency w As responsible for coordinating the movements of both the by design this report portrays a wrenching human tragedy in cold clinical terms. Gen. John m. Shalikashvil chairman joint chiefs of staff fighters operating in the area and the helicopters. 10 54 . A the Black Hawks reported to the Azacs that they were departing Lakhu code named a whiskey a and heading toward  Lima was the code word for the town of Erbil in the Eastern end of the no Fly zone. However the Azacs Crew did no to know what a a Lima meant did no to look it up and so did no to know the helicopters destination the 26 passengers and Crew of the two Black Hawks consisted of 15 americans five kurd plus three turkish one French and two British officials. On Board were both the arriving and departing  and the turkish co commander of the military coordination Center. 11 05 , a the f-15cs checked in with the Azacs and were not told. About the Black Hawks inside the no Fly zone. The Black Hawk radios were still tuned to the frequency for use outside the zone so they apparently heard none of the f-15s�?T radio messages that followed. Although none of the Black Hawk Crew members survived the attack other helicopter pilots in the same unit testified that they usually had limited communication with the Azacs. Because of mountainous terrain. One. Pilot testified that he assumed that if the Azacs Crews wanted him to change frequencies they would Tell him. 11 12 . A the Black Hawks entered mountainous terrain. Flying at Low Altitude Down a rugged Valley the Black Hawks images faded from the Azacs radar screens. The a a he Symbol indicating the Black Hawks Iff signals also disappeared from the senior directors screen. 11 15 . A the f-15cs checked in with an Azacs Crew member known As the airborne command element who also did not mention the presence of Friendly Black Hawks inside the no Fly zone. 11 20 . A the f-15cs entered the no Fly zone and switched to the no Fly zone radio frequency. They began patrolling the zone for potential hostile aircraft a process called  their radar spotted a Low flying slow moving aircraft 40 nautical Miles away f4fi statute Miles and 52 nautical Miles about 60 statute Miles North of the nobly zones Southern Boundary. The unidentified radar Contact was flying close to the ground heading almost due East at about 130 nautical Mph about 150 Mph. After Locking his radar onto the target the Lead f-15c Pilot electronically hailed the unknown target to Check for an Iff signal. He received a momentary response. Continuing to signal the target for four to five seconds he received no further responses and believed the momentary response was caused by a possible a a anomaly in his aircraft. Electronics according to the report. 11 22 . A the f-15cs reported to the Azacs that their radar had spotted an unidentified aircraft and relayed its position. The Azacs Crew responded a Clear there Quot meaning that nothing showed up on the Azacs radar screens. 11 23 . A the Azacs radar screens began showing intermittent Iff signals indicating Friendly aircraft in the Vicinity of the f-15cs�?T reported target. The a a he also reappeared on the senior directors screen. 11 25 . A the Lead f-15c Pilot called the Azacs to report that he was 20 nautical Miles 23 statute Miles from the target. The Azacs tactical area of responsibility controller responded a hits there a meaning he had a radar image sighted. Replays of tapes recorded aboard the Azacs clearly show Iff paints at the reported position according to the report. A a a paint is a term to describe an Iff reply and a controller aware of the Iff display should respond with a paints there a instead of a hits  11 26 . A the Black Hawk Iff response was now continuous with intermittent radar screen images. According to the report a the Azacs Crew did not advise the f-15c flight of the presence of Iff data in the target  comparison View equipped with external fuel tanks to extend its Range the . Black Hawks copter bears some similarity to the iraqi Mi-24 hand. Sources Jane s All tie world s aircraft Sikorsky aircraft aps amps 11 28 . A travelling at 450 nautical Mph about 518 statute Mph the f-15c Lead Pilot made one High Speed pass by. The helicopters. From a distance of 1,000 feet to the Side and 500 feet above he visually identified the helicopters As Mi-24 iraqi Hinds. A tally two Hinds a he radioed. The Wingman confirmed that he saw two helicopters but did not believe for certain they were Hinds. A tally two a he radioed. A copy Hinds a the Azacs replied. The terrain was a narrow Valley and the Jet pilots were flying below the Ridge line with the Valley Walls narrowing in front of them. They climbed and circled to fire at the helicopters from behind r both pilots said later that they had never seen a Black Hawk with external fuel tanks attached to the sides. These Bullet shaped tanks Are in a similar position As the external weapons on a Hind. The Pilot training did not discuss color and camouflage differences Between american dark Green and iraqi Tan helicopters. Pilots Saia that the training photographs they viewed were mostly shots of helicopters taken from below and did not show a Tail View 11 29 .�? the Lead f-15c Pilot reported that he was  he instructed his Wingman to a farm hot a meaning to prepare to launch missiles. He said that he would shoot the trailing helicopter and that the Wingman would then shoot the leading helicopter. 11 30 . A from about four nautical Miles away 4vs statute mile the Lead f-15c Pilot fired a radar guided -120 advanced medium Range air to air missile. A seven seconds later flying steadily at an Altitude of 120 to 200 feet above ground level the trailing helicopter was hit caught fire and began breaking apart. It burst into flames upon Impact with the ground. Kurdish witnesses on the ground saw the Lead helicopter make Sharp left and right Maneu vers before banking steeply to enter a narrow Valley. The f-15c Wingman fired a heat seeking -9 sidewinder missile. The Lead helicopter exploded in a fireball. There were no indications that senior Crew members aboard the Azacs made any radio Calls throughout the intercept. The report said there is also no indication that senior Crew members issued any guidance to either their Crew or to the f-15c pilots. 11 31 . A the f-15cs made two passes Over the wreckage site and saw that there were no survivors. A a nobody a there a the Wingman said. A nobody could survive  _ exactly one hour later the ground. Based Mission director from the military coordination Center called the Azacs and said that two Black Hawk helicopters were unaccounted for. A a by design a wrote Gen. John m. Shalikashvil chairman of the joint chiefs of staff a this report portrays a wrenching human tragedy in cold clinical  the loss of 26 people he continued a touches the very fabric of the military institution a whose code and passion is to take care of each other and protect one another from