U.S. forces rescue second crew member from F-15 downed in Iran: Officials

U.S. special forces rescued the second crew member of the F-15 fighter jet that was https://www.axios.com/2026/04/03/iran-us-fighter-shot-down" target="_blank">shot down over https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran, three U.S. officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: The shootdown was a nightmare scenario for the U.S. military, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also racing to locate the missing U.S. officer in southwest Iran over the past 36 hours.

Both crew members have now been rescued.

• One of the U.S. officials said the operation was conducted by a specialized commando unit with a high volume of air cover, and that all of the forces are now out of Iran.

Behind the scenes: According to two sources, the F-15 pilot and weapons systems officer both made contact via their comms systems after ejecting.

• The pilot was rescued several hours after the plane was shot down.

  It took more than a day to locate and rescue the second crew member.

• U.S. special forces were deployed on the ground in Iran on Friday and again on Saturday as part of the search and rescue mission.

Zoom in: On Saturday, the second crew member was located and a rescue operation began — with the IRGC also sending forces to the region to prevent it.

• U.S. Air Force jets conducted strikes against Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the area, the sources said.
• President Trump and senior members of his team followed the rescue operation from the White House Situation Room.

During Friday's rescue of the pilot, Iran struck a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter participating in the operation.

• Crew members were wounded but the helicopter was able to fly on.

Go deeper: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/04/trump-iran-hell-threat-deadline" target="_blank">Trump threatens Iran with "hell" if Hormuz strait isn't open in 48 hours