Photographs show that the aircraft struck the ground at low speed in an inverted position, and that the airframe remained relatively intact.
The United States did not attempt to destroy the wreckage, surprising analysts and pilots.
The F-117 was based on 1970s technology, the military had revealed its existence in 1988, and the aircraft often appeared at air shows.
General Bruce A. Carlson stated that if Serbia gave the wreckage to Russia, the result would be minimal.

Some pieces of the F-117's wreckage are preserved at the Serbian Museum of Aviation in Belgrade; other pieces of wreckage were reportedly sent to Russia and China, to be used in developing anti-stealth technology.
A small rubber part of the plane was shown as "a souvenir" to Western journalists by Serbian warlord Arkan during the NATO bombing.
The USAF retired its F-117s in 2008.

Zoltán Dani, now running a bakery, and Dale Zelko, now retired from the U.S. Air Force, met in 2011.
They have since developed a friendship.
Photographs show that the aircraft struck the ground at low speed in an inverted position, and that the airframe remained relatively intact. The United States did not attempt to destroy the wreckage, surprising analysts and pilots. The F-117 was based on 1970s technology, the military had revealed its existence in 1988, and the aircraft often appeared at air shows. General Bruce A. Carlson stated that if Serbia gave the wreckage to Russia, the result would be minimal.
Some pieces of the F-117's wreckage are preserved at the Serbian Museum of Aviation in Belgrade; other pieces of wreckage were reportedly sent to Russia and China, to be used in developing anti-stealth technology. A small rubber part of the plane was shown as "a souvenir" to Western journalists by Serbian warlord Arkan during the NATO bombing. The USAF retired its F-117s in 2008.
Zoltán Dani, now running a bakery, and Dale Zelko, now retired from the U.S. Air Force, met in 2011. They have since developed a friendship.
1999 F-117A shootdown