Report: Downed airman couldn’t make contact at first because he was concussed; US destroyed own rescue planes to avoid Iran taking them
Quoting unnamed Israeli sources, Channel 12 reports details of the rescue of the second US F-15 crewmember, including high drama when two main US rescue aircraft got stuck in the sand and were destroyed by American bombs.
The weapons systems officer was unconscious and lightly concussed after landing and could not initially contact US forces after ejecting into Iran on Friday morning. Around noon Israel time, he made contact from the highest point he could find to avoid capture. He then walked 10 to 12 kilometers, hid in a crevice, and that night sent a precise location. The sources said that Israel avoided striking the area and provided specific intelligence, contradicting US accounts that said it offered only general assistance.
Over Friday and Saturday, the US asked Israel to help ensure air superiority, and it struck relevant targets. Ahead of the rescue, US forces secured a small airstrip or agricultural field where two C-130 aircraft carrying Little Bird helicopters landed. The helicopters flew to extract the crewman and returned him, exhausted, to the secured field.
During takeoff, the C-130s became stuck in the sand and could not lift off. Three lighter aircraft were brought in and evacuated the crewman and the roughly 90-member rescue team. US warplanes then destroyed the C-130s, as later shown in Iranian propaganda images, to prevent them from falling intact into Iranian hands.
