[UPDATES BELOW]
They’re going to make a movie about this rescue. An F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace on Good Friday. One pilot was recovered, but the other was missing. A massive search-and-rescue operation commenced, leading to another aircraft, an A-10 Warthog, taking fire and ditching in the Persian Gulf. That pilot was safely rescued.
To recap, from the standpoint of local time:
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) April 5, 2026
Shot down early on Good Friday. Rescued Easter Sunday morning.
If it were a movie plot, we'd roll our eyes at it for being too on the nose but here we are in real life... https://t.co/YxPKiVdGJB
There’s been a flood of conflicting reports about the operation, from extended gun battles between American and Iranian forces to Al-Jazeera, of all outlets, getting the scoop on the successful rescue of the second F-15 crew member, although they later clarified that American personnel were still in danger. It took more than a day to finally locate the weapons systems officer. President Trump posted on social media about the successful rescue mission and said no American warfighters would be left behind. The New York Times quoted a senior military official calling this rescue one of the most dangerous and complex in the history of US special forces operations.
🚨 🚨 🚨 TRUMP: “WE GOT HIM!” WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!” pic.twitter.com/XovS8v31QE
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 5, 2026
🚨 🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: The second crew member of the downed F-15E has been rescued, and he along with the rescue team that extracted him from behind enemy lines in Iran are all safely out of the country. pic.twitter.com/kWdqGCizeF
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 5, 2026
Recommended
🚨BREAKING: The second crew member from the downed F-15E has been successfully rescued and is safely out of Iran, per Fox News.
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) April 5, 2026
Sounds like a very complex, harrowing battle to get him out. No Americans were killed despite IRGC causalities.
Incredibly grateful for this news. https://t.co/LOvs9Uiqjz
Fox News can confirm that the 2nd crew member of the downed F15E fighter jet has been rescued and he and the members of the rescue team that extracted him from behind enemy lines in Iran are all safely out of Iran. That according to two senior US officials and multiple well… https://t.co/NKsLfayT53
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) April 5, 2026
BREAKING: A U.S. official tells Al Jazeera that both crew members of a downed F-15E in Iran have been recovered following a “heavy firefight,” though the rescue operation continues as teams work to safely extract them.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 5, 2026
pic.twitter.com/WvBBY1WAeD
Al Jazeera has issued an update saying that the missing weapons systems officer has been confirmed rescued, however the operation is still in progress and the crew is not yet safe. https://t.co/qbVH0uUlPy pic.twitter.com/GkE6OsQ5nZ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 5, 2026
Axios:
— Steve Lookner (@lookner) April 5, 2026
--"the F-15 pilot and weapons systems officer both made contact via their comms systems after ejecting"
--"It took more than a day to locate and rescue the second crew member"
--"On Saturday, the second crew member was located and a rescue operation began — with the IRGC…
The Wall Street Journal has more:
U.S. forces rescued an American aviator trapped in Iran in a daring mission early Sunday morning, according to two U.S. officials. The crew member had been stuck in Iran for more than 24 hours. A specialized commando force extracted the crew member with the help of air cover, one of the officials said.
All forces involved in the rescue are safely out of Iranian airspace, according to the officials. The aviator, who has not yet been identified, was one of two aircrew flying in an F-15E Strike Eagle when it was shot down by Iranian forces on Friday.
A U.S. military team rescued the other crew member on Friday and that person is now safe. The rescue comes less than two days before President Trump’s deadline for Iran to negotiate a deal with the United States or open the Strait of Hormuz.
From CBS News:
The downing of the F-15E fighter jet marks the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down in combat in over 20 years, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 fighter pilot, told The Associated Press.
At least four U.S. fighter jets have been shot down since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, but three of those were in a friendly-fire incident, the Pentagon said. On March 1, three American F-15s were "mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," U.S. Central Command said at the time, and there were no casualties from that incident.
CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean on Friday provided insight on how the search and rescue operation for the missing F-15E crew member might play out, explaining the U.S. military uses highly trained forces known as Air Force Pararescuemen who are "dedicated" for such missions.
The missing crew member would have had first-aid gear and "training in how to administer self-care in case they're injured," MacLean explained, and would be equipped with communications gear to "let their chain of command know that they are OK, and ideally participate in their own rescue."
Iranian state media offered a cash reward for whoever captured the second aviator.
NYT with more details about the commando raid:
Finding the downed airman, who had been hiding with little more than a pistol as defense, had been the U.S. military’s highest priority over the last 48 hours.
The mission to save the crew member employed hundreds of special forces troops, dozens of U.S. warplanes, helicopters, and cyber, space and other intelligence capabilities.
U.S. attack aircraft dropped bombs and opened fire on Iranian convoys to keep them away from the area where the airman was hiding. As U.S. forces converged on the downed airman, a firefight erupted, two former senior military officials briefed on the operation said.
The airman was equipped with a beacon and a secure communication device for coordinating with forces mounting the rescue.
A senior U.S. military official described the mission to rescue the airman as one of the most challenging and complex in the history of U.S. special operations.
In a final twist after the weapons officer was rescued, two transport planes that would carry the commandos and the airmen to safety got stuck at a remote base in Iran. Commanders decided to fly in three new planes to extract all the U.S. military personnel and the airmen, and they blew up the two disabled planes rather than have them fall into Iranian hands.
The F-15E fighter jet was shot down in a region of Iran where there is significant opposition to the Iranian government As a result, the airman may have been able to rely on locals for shelter and assistance.
The crash also drew the attention of Iranian military forces, who were reported to have been scouring the area. The Iranian government asked locals for help finding the downed airman, and had offered a reward for the airman’s capture.
The C.I.A. often also plays a role in making contact with civilians willing to help vulnerable troops stay alive, a process known as “unconventional assisted recovery.”
CIA executed a misinformation campaign to confuse the Iranians:
🚨A senior Trump administration official told me that prior to locating the weapons systems officer and the U.S. military rescue operation, the CIA first launched a deception campaign spreading word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him on the… https://t.co/2CG2yqCic0
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) April 5, 2026
RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM! https://t.co/sF0bVDwB8P
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) April 5, 2026
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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