A US Air Force officer hit the ground at roughly 100 miles per hour after his parachute failed to open over Iran. He survived broken bones and two days behind enemy lines to tell the tale.
The weapons systems operator, known only as Bravo, watched his F-15E Strike Eagle get hit by a missile. He described the impact as being hit by a freight train in an interview with Norah O'Donnell. His parachute was damaged in the initial attack and did not fully open, according to RedState. Bravo told the host that seeing no parachute was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen.
For the first time publicly, the U.S. Air Force officer who was shot down over Iran and stranded behind enemy lines for two days tells his story, only on 60 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/r1uiksAZvl
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 13, 2026
He prayed for help while free-falling toward the ground in enemy territory. Military experts later said he landed at speeds between 70 and 100 mph. Upon impact, the officer suffered a broken back, arm, and shoulder. He also sprained an ankle and bled from cuts and scrapes all over his body.
Despite the pain, he knew he had to move before Iranian forces found him. He climbed a 7,000-foot ridgeline to gain high ground and spot the enemy. Bravo called his survival a modern-day miracle and a testament to God's provision. He believes God prevented catastrophic injuries that would have stopped him from surviving.
After his parachute was damaged in an Iranian attack and didn’t fully open, the U.S. Air Force officer who was ejected from his fighter jet said “free-falling was a good way” to describe his descent. Military debriefers estimated he hit the ground at between 70 and 100 mph. pic.twitter.com/pNnR1LNDeL
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 13, 2026
While Bravo climbed the mountain, his pilot, Alpha, was rescued within just six hours. It took longer to find Bravo because he was hiding in a valley surrounded by cliffs. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine explained the need to isolate threats from high ground. Before the rescue team reached them, Iranian ground forces came within a few hundred meters of Bravo.
According to U.S. military sources, Iranians got within a few hundred meters of the U.S. Air Force officer, who was shot down and stranded in Iran earlier this year. https://t.co/7KfRc1L0jO pic.twitter.com/NhYpk3LEUg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026
The Central Intelligence Agency reportedly ran a deception campaign to move enemy troops away from Bravo. This allowed special forces to extract him safely from the dangerous area. President Donald Trump praised the team as brilliant, strong, and decisive during the operation. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the US would always go get its people alive or dead.
Bravo, the U.S. Air Force weapon systems officer who was stranded behind enemy lines in Iran for two days, tells 60 Minutes about the first message he was able to send to the U.S.: “God is good.” https://t.co/xqTEaggw2A pic.twitter.com/z7cBfqCksI
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026
Admiral Brad Cooper noted that the US had flown broadly 13,000 missions over the region by that point. He told 60 Minutes that while they had air superiority, they were not flying over Kansas. The plane crashed in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province near the Iraq border. Bravo credited his pilot Alpha with saving their lives by ejecting them from the $30 million jet.
