The American air force colonel whose fighter jet was downed over Iran in April has shared how survived for two days behind enemy lines with a broken back, arm and shoulder while waiting for help to arrive. The pilot in the front - ‘Alpha’ - ejected successfully, but Bravo came down in the mountains. In his first public account of what happened, he told CBS News’ 60 Minutes how he free-fell to the ground at speeds of up to 100mph with a damaged parachute, torn up by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile.
But if I'm getting through this, I need help.’” The officer broke his back, an arm and his shoulder after hitting the ground at speed but miraculously survived the fall. Finding himself in a valley with cliffs on either side, he knew that he would have to reach the high ground despite his injuries. I moved as quickly as I could, despite the injuries, away from the place that I landed.” The pilot had ejected from the $31m Strike Eagle after making every attempt to avoid it going down, Bravo said.
The impact of the missile felt like getting hit by a “freight train”. Alpha was rescued under fire by two military helicopters that day but it would be another 50 hours before Bravo would be safe. As Iranian forces closed in on his position, the officer focused on getting a message back to base to signal he was alive: ‘God is good.’ He would spend another full day in the mountains with almost no water or food before the US military arrived.
According to CBS, the CIA played a key role in the mission, using top-secret technology to find Bravo while distracting Iran with a deception campaign. Iran at the time claimed the rescue operation near Isfahan was a cover story for an American plot to steal a stockpile of uranium. Donald Trump has listed curbing Iranian access to nuclear materials among his objectives for the conflict, but there is nothing to validate Iran’s conspiracy.
Iran’s foreign minister tried to frame the rescue mission as a “disaster” for the United States. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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