A crew member from a US F-15E shot down in Iran has appeared publicly for the
first time, saying his parachute was damaged and he fell in a “free fall” before
surviving. The jet, worth about $30 million, was downed by a man-portable
air‑defense missile during an early‑April strike; both crew ejected. US forces
deployed two transport aircraft carrying rescuers and multiple lights
helicopters, landing on a makeshift runway near his location; rescuers then used
helicopters to reach a ridge. After he and the rescue team returned by
helicopter to the makeshift runway, two aircraft became bogged down with landing
gear stuck in sand and could not take off. US forces sent additional personnel
to extract them and destroy the fighter and the helicopters to prevent
sensitive technology from falling into Iranian hands.
