April 6, 2026, 10:38 amApril 6, 2026, 12:06 p.m
Two US fighter jets were shot down over Iran on Good Friday. After the shot down, one of the crew members went missing.
According to the US government, dozens of fighter jets were then sent into action to find and rescue the missing pilot. They managed to do this around 36 hours after the two planes crashed. The crew member was found in an injured condition and rescued.
Published images now show the wreckage of an American aircraft. According to forensic image analyst William Goodhind, this is a US MC-130J or HC-130J.
Two MC-130 planes that were carrying some of the roughly 100 special operations forces into rough terrain south of Tehran suffered a technical failure and were unable to take off, a U.S. official said Reuters. After the rescue force was gradually withdrawn, US troops destroyed the damaged MC-130 aircraft rather than risk leaving sensitive equipment behind, writes Reuters.
Video: watson/nina bürge
When the soldier was rescued, US President Donald Trump wrote in capital letters on his media platform “Truth Social”: “WE GOT HIM.” The president described the rescue operation as dramatic and described that the soldier had allegedly been hunted by the “enemies,” i.e. Iran. The rescue operation was one of the most daring searches in US history, Trump wrote.
The war between the USA and Iran has now been going on for over a month. The consequences of this are that oil prices are rising worldwide as the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by the conflict. Donald Trump has threatened the Iranian leadership three times so far that there would be violent attacks on their country if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened. A deadline set by Trump for Iran currently runs until Tuesday. According to Swiss time, this deadline will expire on Wednesday night. (nib)
correction
A previous version said it was the wreckage of a US fighter jet. However, that is not the case. Instead, it is a military transport aircraft. We have therefore adapted the article and the video.