Trump says airman treated his own wounds and evaded capture for almost 48 hours in Iran before rescue

President Trump said the second crew member in the American F-15E fighter jet that was downed by Iranian fire on Friday was injured "quite badly" and stranded in an area "teaming with terrorists," far from the pilot's location. He said the airman followed his training and began… pic.twitter.com/GKYZhC0J3K

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 6, 2026

President Trump said the second crew member in the American F-15E fighter jet that was downed by Iranian fire on Friday was injured “quite badly” and stranded in an area “teaming with terrorists,” far from the pilot’s location. He said the airman followed his training and began climbing toward a higher altitude to evade capture, scaling cliff faces, treating his own wounds and contacting U.S. forces to transmit his location.