Air Force officer recalls ‘free-falling’ after jet was shot down over Iran

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, one of the two U.S. Air Force officers whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran in April detailed his harrowing ordeal, including plummeting to the ground with a damaged parachute.

The Defense Department has not identified the Air Force colonel by name. “60 Minutes” correspondent Norah O’Donnell said the show agreed to refer to the weapons systems officer by his mission call sign, “Bravo,” because of security threats from the Iranian regime.

In the interview , the lead segment on the 59th season premiere of the CBS newsmagazine, Bravo said he felt like he had been “hit by a freight train” when a shoulder-fired missile rammed into his F-15E two-seat fighter jet on April 2. The other Air Force officer hit the eject button.

“I will be thankful to my dying day for my pilot and crewmate, Alpha, for saving our lives and ejecting us,” Bravo told O’Donnell.

Bravo said he started “free-falling” toward a rugged mountainous area. He looked up and saw that his parachute had been damaged in the missile attack — a realization he called “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen.” Military professionals estimate he hit the Iranian desert somewhere between 70 and 100 mph, he said, adding that his survival was a “modern-day miracle.”

“60 Minutes” reported that the fall broke Bravo’s back, arm and shoulder, yet he managed to hike and climb a 7,000-foot ridgeline to evade capture. He was stranded behind enemy lines for two days without food or water before two elite Air Force pararescue operators got him out of harm’s way .

“Let’s go,” Bravo said he told his rescuers. “60 Minutes” characterized the search-and-rescue operation as one of the most complex and risky in U.S. military history. (Sunday’s segment did not feature an interview with Alpha, who landed 5 miles away from Bravo after they ejected from the F-15E .)

“60 Minutes” returned to the airwaves Sunday after a summer of turmoil at America’s leading broadcast newsmagazine.

CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss undertook a sweeping shake-up at the show in late May. She tapped technology journalist and documentarian Nick Bilton as the program’s new executive producer , cut ties with a group of senior leaders and let go of two correspondents, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.

Scott Pelley, a veteran correspondent, excoriated Bilton at a June 1 staff meeting, questioning his qualifications for his role and objecting to the ousters of Vega and Alfonsi. Pelley was fired the next day . Alfonsi had previously clashed with Weiss over a segment about the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador.

Weiss and Bilton have since hired new on-air talent , including Ross Douthat, a former opinion columnist at The New York Times who is now a “60 Minutes” correspondent, and Sebastian Junger, a reporter and author who became a contributor to the series. Bilton announced in late July that O’Donnell had been elevated to full-time correspondent.

Sunday’s season premiere offered a glimpse of the revamped program, with slight adjustments to its on-air graphics.