Airman Shot Down Over Iran Describes Survival
Airman Shot Down Over Iran Describes Survival
The News
A U.S. Air Force weapons systems officer identified only by the call sign "Bravo" has given the first public account of being shot down over Iran in April, telling CBS's "60 Minutes" that his parachute failed and he hit the ground at up to 100 mph behind enemy lines.
Bravo said the fall broke his back, his arm and his shoulder and sprained his ankle. He then climbed a 7,000-foot ridgeline with those injuries to reach safety.
The interview aired Sunday as the season 59 premiere of "60 Minutes."
The Numbers
Bravo estimated his descent speed at 70 to 100 miles per hour. His F-15E Strike Eagle, valued at $30 million, was brought down by a shoulder-fired missile. He spent nearly two days on the ground before he was recovered.
Timeline
Bravo's F-15E Strike Eagle is shot down by a shoulder-fired missile over southwestern Iran, near the Iraqi border. His parachute is damaged in the ejection and he falls at an estimated 70 to 100 mph, breaking his back, arm and shoulder and spraining his ankle.
Injured and behind enemy lines, Bravo scales a 7,000-foot ridgeline to evade capture and reach a recovery point. He is pulled out in what CNN described as a risky recovery operation.
Bravo tells his story publicly for the first time on CBS's "60 Minutes," the season 59 premiere. It is the first public testimony from either crew member since the incident.
Reactions
Bravo said the most terrifying moment of the ordeal was not the missile or the two days on enemy ground — it was plummeting toward the earth under a damaged parachute, according to the New York Post's account of the interview.
He said what drove him to keep moving despite a broken back was the fear of being captured and paraded on Iranian television.
Mediaite billed the account as a "modern-day miracle."
What's Next
Key details remain unanswered publicly: the exact circumstances of the rescue operation and whether they have been declassified, and what has become of the pilot, identified only by the call sign "Alpha."
Both crew members are still being publicly identified only by call sign.
More
The aircraft was an F-15E Strike Eagle, a two-seat fighter crewed by a pilot and a weapons systems officer. The downing happened over southwestern Iran near the Iraqi border, and until Sunday neither man had spoken publicly about it.
Poll
Should the military declassify the full details of the rescue operation?
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