Božidar Vujović, a young First Lieutenant of the Yugoslav Air Force, took off from Ladvjeci aerodrome in the city of Kraljevo, Yugoslavia (now Serbia).

Due to a navigational error, Božidar found himself over Albania, closing in on Rinas aerodrome.

Meanwhile, Ratomir had become separated from him due to a misunderstanding and ended up in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria.

At that time, Rinas Aerodrome was home to the 7594 Fighter-Bomber Regiment, and two MiG-19s were scrambled to intercept the intruder.

The crew of an IL-28 bomber, which typically did not fly at night, led by their commander, Bajram Hitaj, from Vlora, was also dispatched to intercept the intruder.