Shot down twice. An American pilot had incredible bad luck during the war in Iran

According to current and former Air Force officials, the aforementioned pilot “almost certainly” became the first American pilot to be shot down twice in the same conflict since the Vietnam War, the server said.

The first incident took place on the second day of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. In retaliation, the Islamic Republic attacked American allies, and Kuwait also came under fire from Iranian missiles and drones. The tense situation led to the fact that the pilot of the Kuwaiti Hornet failed in visual and electronic identification and fired at three two-seater American F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft from behind. The Kuwaiti was very successful: all three American machines went to the ground and their crews had to eject.

Just a few weeks later, on April 3, the same pilot was deployed in a sharp combat operation directly over southwestern Iran. His F-15E was hit at low altitude – apparently by a Chinese man-portable anti-aircraft missile (MANPADS), according to the investigation.

The Americans immediately launched a massive and high-risk rescue mission. While the pilot was located and picked up relatively quickly by members of the US special forces, his weapon operator was injured during ejection after his parachute opened incorrectly. He thus had to escape captivity in the Zagros Mountains with injuries for more than 36 hours before the American commando successfully evacuated him.

The weapon operator’s equipment included a pistol, a knife and a sponge for soaking up fresh water. It was also equipped with a beacon to specify its position, but the colonel had to handle it very carefully so that its signal would not be intercepted by the Iranians.

At one point, he even had to crawl into a narrow rock gap, where he was “invisible” to the Iranians and could only be located with the equipment of the American Central Intelligence Service (CIA).

Iranian forces closed the area of ​​probable impact and called on local residents to help capture the American. Whoever brought him alive would receive a reward in the amount of one hundred times the average monthly salary.

The server recalled that during the rescue operation, Iranian air defenses hit and damaged several American helicopters and also an A-10 Warthog fighter.