A movie will be made about this rescue operation. On Good Friday, an F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace. One pilot was successfully recovered, but the other went missing. This led to a massive search-and-rescue operation. During the effort, another aircraft, an A-10 Warthog, came under fire and had to ditch in the Persian Gulf. Fortunately, that pilot was safely rescued.
To recap, from the standpoint of local time:
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
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) April 5, 2026
Reports have been rife with conflicting information regarding the operation, ranging from prolonged gun battles between American and Iranian forces to Al-Jazeera, unexpectedly, breaking the news about the successful rescue of the second F-15 crew member. They later clarified, however, that American personnel were still in peril. It took more than a day to finally track down the weapons systems officer. President Trump took to social media to announce the successful rescue mission, stating that no American service members would be left behind. The New York Times cited a senior military official who referred to this rescue as one of the most dangerous and intricate operations in the history of U.S. special forces.
? ? ? 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
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
More from The Wall Street Journal:
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.
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.”
The CIA initiated a misinformation campaign against the Iranians. Also, apparently, it was the CIA that managed to locate the downed airman:
?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
Griffin: Until just moments ago when we began reporting this, not everyone was out safely. We've been following this this afternoon, and we agreed to hold our reporting until everyone from the U.S. Side was out of Iranian territory and safe. pic.twitter.com/Zj8YgX7Mx4
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 5, 2026
Only Democrats are complaining about this operation, which of course makes sense because they’re awful human beings. But hats off to the U.S. military and our commander-in-chief for issuing the order to go find our missing airman.
