NEWSFLASH: Second crew member of fighter jet downed in Iran has been rescued, sources say.
The missing crew member from a U.S. fighter jet downed over Iran has been rescued in a dangerous mission Saturday night, according to the New York Times. He is reported to have been injured.
The first of the two F-15 crew members was rescued alive on April 3, the same day the aircraft was reported to have crashed, according to Axios.
The search and rescue mission for the second crew member stretched over 24 hours and had developed as some sort of race — Iranian state media and local politicians were calling on its civilians to search for the missing pilot, offering a bounty.
A governor in Iran promised $76,000 for anyone who found the missing pilot, and state media announced that it was offering a reward for handing over the pilot alive, according to CNN.
This fighter jet is the first known U.S. aircraft to be downed over enemy territory in this war.
A second Air Force combat plane also crashed on Friday near the Strait of Hormuz at around the same time, and its singular pilot was rescued, according to the New York Times.
These two instances come just a few days after Donald Trump said that Iran’s ballistic missile capability was damaged and its navy and air force were destroyed.
A month ago, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours.” These incidents make clear that this has still not been achieved.

