Trump says the missing pilot has been rescued; Iran: Destroyed a U.S. military search and rescue aircraft

An American Air Force F-15E “Strike Eagle” fighter jet was shot down over Iran. In the early hours of April 5, 2026, U.S. President Trump posted on social media saying that the U.S. military carried out “one of the most daring search-and-rescue operations in American history,” and that the second missing American aviator “is safe and sound.”

Trump said that at his direction, the U.S. military deployed dozens of aircraft and successfully brought the pilot back. The pilot was injured, but overall conditions are good.

Meanwhile, a CCTV News reporter learned from sources on the U.S. side that the U.S. has rescued the second aviator on the F-15E fighter jet that was shot down over Iran. Reports said that all personnel have left Iran. However, the U.S. side has not yet provided more details about the rescue operation, and the Pentagon has also offered no response.

An Air Force F-15E “Strike Eagle” two-seat fighter jet was shot down over Iran on April 3, and both aviators ejected and escaped. After that, the U.S. military deployed search-and-rescue aircraft and helicopters to enter places such as Iran’s Khuzestan Province to rescue one pilot, while the other remains missing.

Xinhua News Agency reported that this was the first time since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military action against Iran, that a U.S. warplane was shot down within Iranian territory. Some U.S. media outlets noted that the U.S. lost two aircraft within one day—less than 48 hours after Trump claimed in a nationwide televised address that the military action against Iran achieved “rapid, decisive, overwhelming victory.”

The U.S. military then launched a search-and-rescue operation, while Iran began a nationwide manhunt. Iran’s state television called on the public: if you see the enemy, shoot and capture them for a hefty reward. In Iran’s valleys, armed tribal forces in the area had already gone into the mountains with guns to search. What’s more, an Iranian businessman publicly offered a bounty of $50,000 to “capture that pilot.”

In a report published by the Tasnim News Agency in the early hours of April 5, it said that the U.S. search-and-rescue effort for the pilot of the downed aircraft was unsuccessful, and that it attempted to kill him by bombing possible places where he might be hiding in Iran. The report cited an Iranian military source as saying that the U.S. side has become desperate in looking for the “second pilot.”

However, Trump said that this search-and-rescue operation took place after the successful rescue of another pilot “yesterday,” and that “the earlier action was not confirmed because they did not want to endanger the second rescue.” He said that in these two operations, “no American person was killed or injured.”

Also, according to a report by CCTV International News, citing a Qatar Al Jazeera report that quoted a U.S. government source, fierce exchanges of fire occurred during the rescue. The report said that the exchanges of fire took place near Kogiluyeh County in Iran’s southwest, close to where the fighter jet crashed. The report said that the exchanges of fire have caused at least 4 deaths and 1 injury. The report did not disclose any specific information about casualties from the exchanges of fire.

Xinhua News Agency on April 5 also cited a report from the Tasnim News Agency saying that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Public Relations Department stated that a plane carrying a search-and-rescue missing pilot was shot down in Isfahan Province.

Iran’s military had earlier said that on April 3, Iran’s air defense forces shot down a U.S. A-10 “Warthog” attack aircraft in the airspace near the Strait of Hormuz. According to U.S. media reports, this single-seat aircraft was hit while providing support for the search-and-rescue of the two aviators mentioned above. The aircraft’s pilot flew the damaged aircraft into the airspace over Kuwait, ejected, and the aircraft crashed. In a statement issued on April 4, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Public Relations Department also said that on the 3rd, personnel from Iranian mountain-area tribal forces hit two “Black Hawk” helicopters. At the time, those two helicopters were trying to rescue the U.S. aircraft pilot who had been shot down earlier.

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