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 light helicopters, landing on a makeshift runway near his location; rescuers then used helicopters to reach a ridge. After he

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 light 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 destroyed the fighter and the helicopters to prevent sensitive technology from falling into Iranian hands.