U.S. forces mounted an urgent and high-risk rescue effort to find an airman who was forced to eject from a downed F-15E fighter jet over Iran.




An American Air Force colonel who was forced to eject from an F-15E fighter jet over southwest Iran survived nearly two days behind enemy lines, sheltering in a rocky mountain crevice as U.S. forces mounted an urgent and high-risk effort to rescue the airman before armed Iranian forces could find him, according to multiple officials familiar with the complex and perilous rescue.

The recovery of the downed airman unfolded against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical channel for global oil trade. President Trump halted other planned U.S. military operations against Iran, redirecting attention and resources in a herculean U.S. government effort toward locating and extracting the stranded American service member, multiple sources told CBS News.

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, black smoke rises into the air at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site where an American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation were shot down, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026.
In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, black smoke rises into the air at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site where an American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation were shot down, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. Sepahnews via AP
Dozens of special operations forces and aircraft were assigned to the effort, zeroing in on the stranded crew member's beacon and eventually bringing him to safety in broad daylight Sunday morning local time.

Here's the timeline leading up to the crash and the rescue. The following reporting is based on conversations with multiple officials familiar with the historic search and rescue mission.

Thursday
President Trump was not seen in public on Thursday, when the nation's attention had turned largely to the unfolding drama at the Justice Department, as Mr. Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. The president also celebrated a planning board's approval of his plans for a new ballroom at the White House.

Behind the scenes though, Mr. Trump and his core national security team huddled at the White House, preparing for additional U.S. military operations against Iran.

On Truth Social, the president said Iran had not yet seen the full might of the U.S. military and threatened further attacks. "Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!" he wrote.

So far, the war had been an air campaign. No known American ground forces had entered Iran.

Friday
Early Friday, the F-15E was shot down in southwest Iran, inadvertently putting two U.S. airmen on the ground. American aircraft scoured rugged, mountainous terrain for the missing servicemembers while taking enemy fire.

The downed fighter jet's pilot was saved within hours. A rescue helicopter carrying the pilot to safety sustained damage from small arms fire, injuring crew members on board, but it ultimately landed safely in friendly territory. The pilot of another damaged aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, or Warthog for short, was forced to eject over the Persian Gulf and was safely rescued.

That left an Air Force weapons systems officer, separated from his crewmate, somewhere deep inside enemy territory, armed with a handgun, encrypted communication and a location beacon. The colonel was designated "DUSTWUN" — military speak for Duty Status — Whereabouts Unknown.

CIA operatives launched a deception campaign, spreading word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found the colonel and were moving him on the ground, out of the country.

In Washington, Mr. Trump spent the morning huddled in the Situation Room with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mr. Trump later received updates in the Oval Office.

The CIA locked on to the downed airman's exact location in a mountainous area south of Isfahan. Other planned operations were halted as U.S. military power — and the president's attention — pivoted to the combat rescue mission.

When he could, the weapons officer radioed a message: "God is good."

According to a U.S. official, the wording initially raised concerns that the American had been captured by Iranian forces. Trump administration officials were relieved to learn it wasn't a hostage rescue situation.

The airman survived nearly two days behind enemy lines, sheltering in a rocky mountain crevice that can be seen in this map animation near the approximate location of the photographed wreckage. Credit: CBS News Confirmed visual verification of photos from scene

Saturday
A sunny Saturday with highs in the 80s would normally be a golf day for the president. But a Marine sentry was spotted outside the West Wing most of the day Saturday, usually a sign the president is at work. The president's communications director confirmed "he has been working nonstop in the White House and Oval Office," an indication of the intense focus on the rescue mission.

Hegseth phoned in regular updates for the president. Iranian and U.S. forces jockeyed to reach the stranded colonel first. Armed Iranians were seen combing the terrain in search of the airman. A cash reward was offered for his capture. The U.S. military brought more assets to bear.

Dozens of special operations forces and aircraft joined the mission.

Warplanes bombed Iranian convoys to block their advance toward the downed officer, whose name CBS News has learned but is withholding at the request of the Department of Defense.

Navy SEALs recovered the airman from the mountain during daylight hours Sunday local time and flew him to safety.

Two C-130 transport planes tasked with flying out rescue crews got bogged down in soil and were unable to take off from a remote base in Iran. Those planes were blown up to keep them from being captured by the enemy, standard practice for the military. They were not attacked by Iranian forces.

Three additional aircraft were sent into theater to fetch the commandos. One official said they used a rudimentary airfield in Iran.

U.S. forces exited enemy airspace with planes touching down in Kuwait in succession. The mission was completed just before midnight Eastern Time.

The rescued airman was injured, Mr. Trump said, but safe and sound.

Source