{"id":3474,"date":"2026-04-10T07:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T07:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bbncnews.online\/?p=3474"},"modified":"2026-04-10T07:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T07:24:15","slug":"one-of-two-us-fighter-jet-crew-members-rescued-after-iran-shoots-them-down-puts-bounty-on-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bbncnews.online\/?p=3474","title":{"rendered":"One of two US fighter jet crew members rescued after Iran shoots them down, puts bounty on pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0An American pilot was rescued in a daring operation by US special forces Friday after Iran shot down an\u00a0F-15E\u00a0fighter jet \u2014 and placed a bounty on the crew.<\/p>\n

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A second fighter pilot was still missing.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed\u00a0\u201cnewly developed and advanced air defenses\u201d had\u00a0downed the jet, which was \u201ccompletely destroyed and crashed,\u201d Tehran\u2019s Press TV reported.<\/p>\n

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\"Collage<\/div>
Debris from the site appears to match the vertical stabilizer of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"A<\/div>
A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft.U.S. Central Command Public Affairs<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The plane had two crew members \u2014 one of of whom was located and rescued by US forces hours later,\u00a0according to reports.<\/p>\n

American troops were still searching for the other crew member.\u00a0Both reportedly were ejected from the jet.<\/p>\n

It was unclear exactly where the plane went down, but a video geolocated\u00a0by CNN\u00a0shows multiple military aircraft in the search effort flying\u00a0over central Iran in Khuzestan Province that shares a border with Iraq.<\/p>\n

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\"Aircraft<\/div>
A piece of debris from the downed US fighter jet was shot down in Southern Iran.Iranian state media<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Wreckage<\/div>
A piece of debris from the seat of a downed US fighter jet that crashed in Iran.Iranian state media<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The anchor of a local affiliate of the state TV broadcaster earlier urged Iranians to hunt down the\u00a0downed\u00a0\u201cenemy\u201d pilots.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,\u201d the anchor said,\u00a0according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf criticized the US\u00a0in an X post\u00a0Friday that its \u201cno-strategy war \u2026 has now been downgraded from \u2018regime change\u2019 to \u2018Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It would be the first known loss of a jet inside the country since the start of the war, during which American and Israeli pilots have carried out more than 20,000 airstrikes, according to the countries\u2019 military officials.<\/p>\n

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\"ACES<\/div>
ACES II ejection seat from a U.S. Air Force jet, found in Southern Iran.OSINTdefender\/x<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Wreckage<\/div>
Iranian state media<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n