U.S. Pilot Shot Down Twice in 35 Days Over Iran - and Brought His Crew Home Both Times
A U.S. Air Force F-15E pilot was shot down twice in under 35 days during the Iran war, once by friendly fire, once by an Iranian missile, and survived both. The full story of one of the conflict's most remarkable tales of survival.
In one of the most mind-boggling tales of survival to emerge from the 2026 Iran conflict, a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle pilot was shot down twice in under 35 days, first by allied friendly fire over Kuwait, then by an Iranian missile deep inside enemy territory. Military officials describe the unnamed aviator as “almost certainly” the first U.S. Air Force fixed-wing pilot to be shot down twice in the same campaign since the Vietnam War.
First Strike: Chaos in Kuwait (March 1–2, 2026)
Just days into Operation Epic Fury, three F-15E Strike Eagles, including the one flown by this pilot, were mistakenly engaged and destroyed by Kuwaiti air defenses amid a frantic night of Iranian missile, drone, and aircraft attacks.
A Kuwaiti F/A-18 reportedly fired missiles in the fog of war. All six American crew members ejected safely and were recovered. The pilot walked away unscathed, returned to duty after a quick turnaround, and climbed back into the cockpit.
Second Strike: Fire Over Iran (April 3, 2026)
Barely a month later, on April 3, the same pilot was at the controls of another F-15E (callsign Dude 44) from the 494th Fighter Squadron when an Iranian surface-to-air missile, possibly a shoulder-fired MANPAD, ripped into the jet over southwestern/central Iran.
Both the pilot and weapons systems officer (WSO) ejected. The pilot was rescued by U.S. forces within hours. The WSO, however, suffered injuries from a parachute malfunction and spent nearly 36–48 harrowing hours evading capture in rugged terrain before elite special operations teams (including JSOC elements) pulled off a high-risk nighttime extraction.
A Modern-Day Aviation Legend
National security reporter Sean Naylor of The High Side first broke the story, with CBS News and others confirming details through current and former Air Force officials. The fighter community has already dubbed the pilot with callsigns like “Magnet” - a tongue-in-cheek nod to his apparent ability to attract enemy (and friendly) fire.
Replace the final paragraph with:
The pilot has not been publicly identified, and the Air Force has declined to comment on either incident. But as diplomats haggle over uranium enrichment levels in marble-floored negotiating rooms, he is a flesh-and-blood reminder of what the Iran war actually costs, that behind every ceasefire communiqué and framework draft are real people who ejected into the dark over enemy territory and thankfully found their way home.