A U.S. Air Force colonel who was shot down over southwestern Iran in April recounted the harrowing details of his nearly two-day ordeal behind enemy lines in an interview aired Sunday. Identified only by his mission call sign, Dude 44 Bravo, the weapons systems officer described the moment his F-15E Strike Eagle was struck by a shoulder-fired missile and the subsequent challenges he faced surviving with multiple injuries.
On April 3, Bravo’s aircraft was hit near Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, close to the Iraqi border. The missile impact was described as forceful, comparable to being struck by a freight train. The pilot, known as Alpha, successfully ejected both crew members from the $30 million jet. However, Bravo’s parachute was damaged in the attack and failed to fully deploy during his descent, causing him to fall at speeds estimated between 70 and 100 miles per hour.
Despite sustaining serious injuries—including a broken back, arm, and shoulder, along with a sprained ankle and cuts to his head and face—Bravo remained determined to evade capture. He managed to survive nearly 50 hours without food or water while navigating the rugged terrain of the Zagros Mountains. During this time, he avoided Iranian forces who had reportedly placed a $60,000 bounty on his capture. He sought refuge by ascending a 7,000-foot ridge and hiding in a mountain crevice while awaiting extraction.
“I wasn’t focused on the speed at which I was falling. I was instead focused on trying to correct the problems that were in front of me,” Bravo said in the interview, describing how he tried to salvage his parachute mid-fall. He added that the moment he realized his parachute was not opening was the most terrifying of his life.
After he landed, Bravo sent a brief radio message back to U.S. forces, conveying resilience with the words, “God is good.” Initially, U.S. authorities suspected the transmission might be a trap. The pilot, Alpha, was rescued within half a day by U.S. Special Operations forces during a daytime aerial raid, suffering only minor injuries.
A large-scale rescue effort including helicopters and drones was launched but was initially unable to locate Bravo. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to the news program, described the difficult decision to extend the search into a second day despite the risks involved. The rescue operation involved decades of aircraft and MQ-9 Reaper drones supporting smaller helicopters sent to the mountainous search area.
Bravo was ultimately recovered at dawn on Easter Sunday from a makeshift desert strip. Reflecting on the experience, he said that seeing the rescue team arrive was among the greatest moments of his life, underscoring the resolve and training that helped him survive under extreme conditions.