Rebels claimed to have shot down what appeared to be a MiG-21 outside of Bohadi. On 17 March, a pro-Gadaffi Su-22UM3K fighter bomber was shot down over Benina AB, the pilot, reportedly an Algerian mercenary, ejected safely and was captured by rebel forces. On that same day, on 17 March 2011, a "Free Libya Air Force" MiG-21UM crashed after take off from Benina airport due to technical problems, the pilot ejected safely. The rebel MiG-21UM that crashed on 17 March was flown from Ghardabiya Air Base near Sirte to Benina by a defecting pilot the day before. On that same day on 17 March 2011, Gadaffi loyalist fighter jets bombed the rebel-held Benina air force base, damaging three passenger aircraft—two YAK-40 and one Boeing 737-26D operated by Air Libya—that were parked there on the runway.