‘Safe and sound’: How a U.S. Airman Shot Down in Iran Was Rescued From a Mountain Crevice
A United States Air Force member who was missing behind enemy lines for more than 24 hours after his F-15E fighter jet was shot down in Iran on Friday has been rescued, President Donald Trump announced early Sunday morning.
“WE GOT HIM!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after midnight. "The U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine," Trump wrote.
The F-15E jet was shot down over southwestern Iran on Friday, according to multiple U.S. officials’ accounts of the incident, causing the pilot and the weapons systems officer (WSO) to eject. The pilot was rescued soon after, but the second airman—whom Trump described as a "highly respected Colonel"—spent more than 24 hours evading capture in the mountainous region.
Read more: Trump Claimed Total Control of Iran's Airspace. Then Two Warplanes Were Downed
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump wrote.
The F-15E was the first U.S. military aircraft to be shot down inside Iran since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack that killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and more than 100 school children in a single day. U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says 3,531 people have been killed by U.S.-Israeli bombing in Iran so far in the war, and that 1,607 of that number were civilians, including at least 244 children. Thirteen service members have also been killed.
Another U.S. warplane, an A-10 Warthog, also crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. According to Fox News, the Warthog was providing covering fire for rescue teams searching for the pilot. The Iranian military said its air defenses brought down the A-10 and released a video that it claimed showed the aircraft being shot down, but U.S. officials have not said what caused the A-10 to crash. Two rescue helicopters were also hit on Friday during the operation to locate the missing airman.
Iran’s state TV aired a video on Sunday of what it claimed were two American helicopters and a transport plane shot down by the country’s military during the rescue operation for the second F-15 airman. U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up the planes after they suffered a malfunction.
Hiding in a mountain crevice
According to accounts given by U.S. officials to various outlets, the airman used his mandatory Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training to evade capture for a day and a half.
The rescue operation involved hundreds of special forces troops and military personnel, as well as dozens of U.S. warplanes and helicopters.
After the crash landing, the colonel hiked to an elevated ridge and activated an emergency beacon, which allowed U.S. forces to locate him, two U.S. officials told Fox News.
At the same time, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it was searching the area near where the pilot's plane came down, and Iranian officials issued a public plea for locals to find the crew member, offering a reward of $60,000.
Videos posted online showed locals from the area where the jet went down forming search parties to find the airman. According to the New York Times, U.S. aircraft dropped bombs on convoys that approached the area where the airman was hiding.
When the airman was found, he was taken to two MC-130J aircraft that were waiting nearby to exfiltrate him out of the country. But the aircraft malfunctioned, which led to U.S. forces destroying at least one of them, a U.S. official told Reuters.
Trump announced just after midnight on Saturday that the airman, whom he described as a “highly respected Colonel,” was “SAFE and SOUND!”
This is a developing story and will be updated.