The F-15 pilots repositioned their aircraft five to ten miles behind the helicopters for firing passes and the flight lead notified the AWACS TAOR controller that the fighters were “Engaged.” At approximately 0730Z, the lead F-15 pilot fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile at the trail helicopter from a range of approximately four nautical miles. The F-15 wingman then fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile at the lead helicopter from an approximate range of 1.5 nautical miles. Both Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed. All 26 people on board were killed. The F-15 pilots each made two visual reconnaissance passes over the crash sites, then continued their assigned mission.
The case study notes a total of 130 documented failures occurred causing this incident.