U.S. Military Transport Plane Gets Stuck in Sand, Rescue Operation for Pilot Nearly Fails

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 6 - U.S. media disclosed more details on May 5 about the U.S. military's rescue of a pilot from a plane shot down by Iran, stating that U.S. special forces had previously built a runway in Iran, but the aircraft used to transport the rescued pilot and U.S. soldiers out of Iran got stuck in the sand, nearly causing the rescue operation to fail.

The New York Times reported, citing multiple U.S. military sources, that a U.S. F-15E "Strike Eagle" twin-seat fighter jet was shot down over Iran, and the two pilots ejected and parachuted to safety. About six hours later, the U.S. military rescued one pilot despite "intense fire."

The other pilot was injured and hid in the mountains. More than ten hours later, the U.S. military learned of his location through the positioning device he carried and immediately prepared for the rescue.

About 100 U.S. special forces soldiers participated in the rescue of the second pilot, primarily from Navy SEAL Team 6, with Army Delta Force and Rangers as backup, along with a fleet of helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft, fighter jets, and tankers providing support.

After confirming the pilot's location and ensuring it was not a trap set by Iran, the U.S. military began the operation. When the helicopter arrived at the pilot's hiding place, U.S. and Israeli aircraft bombed the surrounding area.

The U.S. military helicopter carried the rescued pilot and special forces soldiers to a runway inside Iran. This makeshift dirt runway had been built earlier by U.S. special forces for potential rescue missions or other emergencies.

Two C-130 military transport planes were on standby at the runway, ready to transport the rescued pilot and other U.S. personnel to Kuwait. However, U.S. military sources stated that at least one, and possibly two, aircraft's landing gear got stuck in the sand of the runway and could not take off. U.S. soldiers spent several hours trying to free the transport planes but were unsuccessful. They had to request three additional aircraft for support to finally escape Iran.

Subsequently, U.S. military aircraft destroyed two transport planes and four MH-6 light helicopters to prevent them from being captured by Iran.

According to CNN, U.S. President Trump did not go golfing but stayed at the White House to watch the rescue operation.

According to Iran, the U.S. military attempted to "conduct a so-called rescue operation" at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan Province, but Iranian armed forces intervened in time, and the U.S. operation "completely failed," with two transport planes and two helicopters shot down and several U.S. soldiers killed. (Hui Xiaoshuang)