Shortly after shooting down Southerland and Adams, Sakai spotted a flight of eight aircraft orbiting near Tulagi. Believing they were another group of Wildcats, Sakai approached them from below and behind, aiming to catch them by surprise. However, he soon realised that he had made a mistake - the planes were in fact carrier-based bombers with rear-mounted machine guns. Despite this realisation, he had progressed too far into the attack to back off, and had no choice but to see it through.