Hi Ian,
I was serving at the time, but don't remember the scenario that you posted involving a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16. As already posted the only Dutch F-16 MiG-29 shoot down took place on the 24th March 1999.
Are you perhaps mixing up the USAF F-16 shoot down of a MiG-29 on the 4th May? This ties in with your recollection of F-16 having to be turned around to engage. The MiG-29 Pilot was Colonel Milenko Pavlovic.
It was later revealed by the Serbs that Colonel Pavlovic was unauthorised to fly and engaged on his own without support or clearance. It was also revealed by the Serbs that they fired SAMs at the MiG-29 as it was mistaken for a NATO aircraft.
From NATO press transcript
04th May 1999 - David Wilby, Air Commodore RAF
At approximately 12:41 pm local Kosovo time, the aircraft was detected. A flight of 2 NATO F-16s were leaving the area after completing their mission. By 12:43, the E-3 airborne early warning and control aircraft had identified the aircraft as a hostile MiG-29 and committed the F-16 flight against it. At 12:46, the F-16s fired air-to-air missiles. At approximately 12:47, the F-16s observed an explosion and the AWACS confirmed that the MiG-29 had been destroyed.
4th May 1999. Unidentified pilot, call sign 'Dog', of F-16CJ serial 91-0353 was interviewed during the conflict and stated the following. He was photographed in front of his aircraft 91-0353. 'Dog' was anonymous at the time, but was later identified as Lt. Col. Michael H. Geczy.
It didn't take but a few seconds; wasn't much of an engagement; one more MiG-29 gone." (The pilot, whose name cannot be released for security reasons, carries the call sign "Dog". He was part of a four-ship formation en route to an air refuelling when the warning of a Serbian MiG was received.) "We turned around and intercepted him," he said.” What the Serbians were thinking as far as tactics (when they launched the MiG), I can't speculate," Dog said, "but he was airborne so we engaged him." ."Frankly, if one of my fellow F-16 pilots hadn't made the first call stating he'd heard AWACS communications, I might not have turned around and gotten the successful engagement," he said. "Of course the AWACS controller got me there, so it was a team effort from start to finish.
Lieutenant Colonel Milenko Pavlovic was shot down and killed while flying his MiG-29. Some of his personal belongings are on display in the Belgrade Military Museum. These objects are his pistol, gun and notebook. The rear part of the AMRAAM which shot him down and recovered from the locality is also on display.
Pavlovic who was the commander of the 204th Fighter Regiment (127th Fighter Squadron) was posthumously promoted.
Aviation researcher Mark Nixon spent time in Yugoslavia researching the fate of the 16 MiG-29s. Nixon met with pilots of the 127th and ground personnel and was able to piece together their fate. At the time of the interviews the surviving MiG-29s were in storage.
Fulcrum A's:
18101 survived conflict - in storage
18102 survived conflcit - in storage
18103 stripped of spares and used as decoy - destroyed
18104 Major Illic's aircraft combat damaged A2A on 24 March 1999. Stripped and later pushed out as a decoy airframe. Destroyed 11th May by cluster munition.
18105 survived conflcit - in storage
18106 shot down by Major Tankink (Royal Netherlands Air Force) Yugoslav pilot Milutinovic ejected successfully.
18107 stripped of spares and used as decoy - destroyed
18108 survived conflict - in storage
18109 shot down by Lt Col Geczy - Lt Col Pavlovic killed
18110 was lost on the 26th March 1999 due to pilot error (stalled on approach to landing) admitted by Major Slobodan Tesanovic, 127th Fighter Squadron.
18111 shot down by Captain Showers - Major Nikolic ejected successfully
18112 shot down by Lt. Col. Rodriquez - Major Arizanov ejected successfully
18113 shot down by Capt. Hwang - Capt. Radosavljevic killed
18114 shot down by Capt Hwang - Major Peric ejected successfully.
Fulcrum B's:
18301 - survived conflict - in storage
18302 - damaged during NATO bombing raid and later pushed out as decoy - destroyed.