The second crew member of a US F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by Iranian fire managed to avoid capture for nearly two days by following his training, US President Donald Trump said at a press conference on Monday.
Trump said the airman was injured “quite badly” after ejecting and landed far from the pilot, in an area he described as “teeming with terrorists”.
“Despite the peril, the officer followed his training and started climbing toward a higher altitude,” Trump said.
According to the president, the airman moved through difficult mountain terrain, scaling cliff faces to stay out of reach.
Treated wounds, sent location
Trump said the serviceman treated his own injuries while in hiding and worked to establish contact with US forces.
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“He was bleeding rather profusely, but he treated his own wounds,” he said.
President Trump said the second crew member in the American F-15E fighter jet that was downed by Iranian fire on Friday was injured “quite badly” and stranded in an area “teaming with terrorists,” far from the pilot’s location. He said the airman followed his training and began… pic.twitter.com/GKYZhC0J3K
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 6, 2026
The airman later used a device to transmit his location to the US military.
“He contacted American forces to transmit his location… it saved his life,” Trump said.
He added that the airman remained undetected while moving to higher ground to improve the chances of recovery.
Rescue operation under fire
US forces later carried out a mission to extract the stranded airman, with Trump saying troops faced gunfire at close range.
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“We immediately mobilised a massive operation to retrieve him,” he said.
The president said the airman had evaded capture in Iran for almost 48 hours before being rescued and taken out of the country.
After the crash on Friday, official and semi-official Iranian news organisations reported that a regional governor had offered a bounty for the F-15E crew – around $60,000 (£45,360).
A US official told the Reuters news agency the plane was flying over Isfahan province when it was brought down, and the two airmen ejected separately.
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They said that the first pilot was rescued while the second airman – the jet’s weapons specialist, and a colonel – remained in Iran.
Speaking to Reuters, the US source said the American officer sprained his ankle in the crash and hid in a crevice on a hilltop.
The airman later established contact with the US military and confirmed his identity.
After this, a senior Trump administration official said the CIA had run a deception campaign earlier, hoping to confuse Tehran by planting information that US forces had already located the missing airman and were moving him before the operation took place.
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An official told Reuters the US military then took additional steps, jamming electronics and bombing key roads around the location to prevent people from getting close.
They said the aircraft eventually sent to extract the airman and rescue forces were smaller turboprop aircraft, capable of landing on small airfields and relatively light.
