RFE
04 Apr 2026

WASHINGTON -- Rescue teams continue to search early on April 4 for a US crew member missing after their fighter jet was brought down over Iran, one of two American forces planes reportedly knocked out of the sky in the region a day earlier.

A US official told RFE/RL one crew member was recovered while the search is ongoing for the second in the first known loss of an American plane, a two-seat F-15E jet, to hostile fire since the war began.

Separately, a US official later said another US Air Force warplane, an A-10 attack aircraft, crashed in the Persian Gulf and that the lone pilot in that incident was safely recovered. Full details were not immediately available.

Iranian state media also reported the downing of both planes. Iranian officials said they also were searching for the missing crew member of the first plane and urged citizens to report to the authorities any information that could lead to the airman's capture.

Specifics of the Iran rescue mission were not provided by the US official who spoke to RFE/RL.

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The US military did not comment, but US President Donald Trump told NBC News that the downing of the jet would not affect negotiations with Iran as he continues to pressure Tehran to accept a US peace deal that regime figures have so far rejected.

Should a crew member be captured by Iranian forces, it would raise already high tensions and likely complicate US efforts as it attempts to fully degrade Tehrans military assets and force the regime to agree to peace terms set out by Trump.

Israel has postponed its planned strikes on Iran so as not to interfere with the search efforts for the US crew member, Western officials told reporters on a call.

Search-And-Rescue Strategy

Asked what a potential search-and-rescue operation would involve, Richard Allen Williams, a retired US Army colonel and former NATO Defense Investment Division official, told RFE/RL that such missions are typically highly coordinated and heavily protected.

He explained that commanders would likely deploy a dedicated air-surveillance aircraft to oversee the operation, supported by air-security assets and ground forces capable of providing suppressive fire if needed.

These units would work to secure the crash site while rescue teams home in on the downed aircrafts GPS signal.

Additional aircraft and backup resources would remain on standby to respond quickly to any escalation or complications, he added.

Photos And Videos

Iranian sources published photos and videos of what they claimed was evidence of the incident.

"Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today," Iran's Fars news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported.

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While US military aircraft have crashed or been hit by Iranian missiles or drones while on the ground since the war broke out on February 28, the downing of the fighter jet, if confirmed officially, would be the first reported case of a US warplane downed by hostile fire.

On March 12, six US service personnel were killed when a KC-135 refueling tanker crashed after a mid-air collision with another refueling aircraft.

Just over two weeks later, on March 27, an Iranian missile and drone strike hit the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, injuring at least 12 American troops and heavily damaging at least two KC-135 aerial refueling planes.

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Three US Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down over Kuwait on March 2 by friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defenses. The six crew members ejected safely into Kuwait.

Iran Launches Strikes Across Region

The report of the downing comes as Iran launched attacks across the Middle East on April 3, setting parts of a major Kuwaiti oil refinery ablaze and triggering air defense responses across the Gulf, as the war with the United States and Israel neared the end of its fifth week.

The refinery has been targeted several times since the war began and state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said firefighters were working to put out multiple fires from the strikes. Electricity, water, and renewable energy infrastructure in Kuwait were also hit in the attack.

Tehran continued to keep the pressure on Israel and its other Gulf Arab neighbors. Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed several Iranian drones, air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, defenses were activated in the United Arab Emirates, and Israel reported incoming missiles.

Authorities in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates said an Egyptian citizen was killed at least 12 other people suffered "minor to moderate" injuries on April 3 in Iranian air attacks. Officials said seven Nepali nationals and five Indian citizens were injured.

Abu Dhabi official said the emirate's Habshan gas facilities suffered significant damage from falling debris after air defense operations.

US Has 'Not Even Started'

The latest wave of Iranian attacks follows comments from US President Donald Trumplate on April 2where he signaled further escalation, saying Washington had not even started its campaign against Iran and warning that more strikes on infrastructure were imminent, even as diplomatic efforts to contain the war showed little progress.