U.S. forces managed to rescue alive the co-pilot of the fighter shot down by Iran after an intense search and rescue mission that prevented Washington from losing more than just one of its personnel: that he would be captured by the Persian country and give Tehran an advantage.
According to Trump announced this Sunday, after one of the “most daring search and rescue operations in history” they managed to rescue the soldier, who is “seriously injured”.
How was the rescue mission of the U.S. pilot in Iran?
#5Apr #US #Iran #Rescuepic.twitter.com/jV8Qly9pal
This is how the pilot of the fighter jet shot down in Iran survived for two daysAccording to information published by the New York Times, the colonel took refuge in the crevice of a mountain after the F-15E ejection – @La_SER…
– Reporte Ya (@ReporteYa) April 5, 2026
“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, member of the F-15 from deep in the mountains of Iran” after remaining seven hours in enemy territory, the president detailed in a message on his social network, Truth Social, where he added that he is “a highly respected colonel.”
Last Friday, Iran shot down a U.S. F-15 on its territory for the first time since the war in the Middle East was triggered by the U.S.-Israeli offensive last February 28.
One of the two fighter crew members was rescued shortly after the incident, but the other was still missing, prompting Trump to order a combat search and rescue (CSAR) operation.
The U.S. president explained that the rescue took place in broad daylight, “something also unusual,” but gave no further details of how the rescue occurred. Neither did the War Department.
As a senior government official told The Washington Post, the co-pilot remained hidden in a mountain crevice to avoid Iranian forces closing in to capture him.
He sustained some injuries, but, as reported by the BBC, was able to escape under his own power and avoid capture by Iran.
The race to see who could get to the missing serviceman first intensified after Iranian television offered a reward to anyone who could find him as his forces rushed to search for him.
Local media reported that many people had moved to the area but that the military had requested that “no one mistreat the pilot”.
“The Iranian military was looking for it intensively, with a large contingent, and it was coming dangerously close,” Trump said.
If he was found stable and alive, Tehran could have captured much more than a military man, it would have put its hands on the United States and improved its cards in the face of an eventual negotiation.
The search effort was marked by crossfire between the deployed U.S. helicopters and the Iranian helicopters on the ground.
The Pentagon deployed C-130s, rescue helicopters and dozens of aircraft flying low and slow, at very low altitude to avoid radar and under threat of being shot down.
Iran claimed Sunday that it shot down four U.S. aircraft during this operation.
To mislead, the CIA spread the word inside Iran that U.S. forces had caught up with the serviceman and were moving him overland, an official told the Post on condition of anonymity.
It was the CIA who located the pilot and shared his location with the White House so that Trump could order the rescue mission.
Iranian media released videos of charred military aircraft wreckage, which could indicate that the U.S. destroyed its own downed aircraft to prevent them from falling into Tehran’s hands.
This, as well as the capture of the military man, could have given Iran some leverage in the development of the war as the end of Trump’s ultimatum to the Persian country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approaches or else unleash hell on the country.
Archived as: Rescue mission pilot Iran
With information from EFE
