“As if hit by a train”: the story of the American pilot who disappeared in Iran, after his plane crash
Last April, his disappearance had the media around the world in suspense. The American soldier, whose plane crashed in southwest Iran and who was rescued more than two days later by American special forces, spoke for the first time on television.
His F-15, called “Dude 44 Bravo”, crashed on April 3, hit by an Iranian missile. A first pilot is then rescued by American forces, the second is nowhere to be found, lost in the wild, with Iranian forces on his heels.
Crash in hostile terrain
The impact of the missile, “it was like being hit by a freight train,” he explained on Sunday, September 13, on the set of the CBS show. The pilot ejects, then realizes in the air that his parachute is damaged. “I looked up and I didn’t see any parachute. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said with fear.
Also readWhat we know about the rescue operation of an American airman in Iran
Holed up in a crevasse
He finally succeeds in deploying the parts of his parachute that are still usable and avoids death. Alive but injured, he has several fractures in his back, arm and a sprained ankle. To survive, he burrowed into a crevasse and then managed to signal his position to the American forces.
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Cover image: © France 24
“Most beautiful moments of my life”
The special forces finally managed to recover it during an operation punctuated by exchanges of fire with the Iranians. “The moment the helicopter appeared on that ridge was one of the most beautiful moments of my life,” he recalled with emotion.
With AFP
