The New York Times, citing US officials, reports that a second US Air Force fighter jet crashed in the Arabian Gulf region on Friday. The sole pilot of the aircraft was successfully rescued.
According to officials, an A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) ground-attack aircraft went down near the Strait of Hormuz. This incident occurred at approximately the same time and in the same general vicinity where a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was downed over Iranian territory. Officials provided limited details regarding the A-10 crash, leaving the specific cause and exact location of the incident undisclosed.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) released video footage documenting the crash of the A-10. While its pilot was recovered, the simultaneous nature of the two crashes has led to conflicting reports regarding the fate of the F-15E’s second crew member, which remains unconfirmed.
Iran shot down the F-15E Strike Eagle over its territory, marking the first such incident in the five weeks since the conflict began. While search and rescue teams successfully extracted one of the two crew members from Iranian soil—according to US and Israeli officials—the fate of the second individual remains unknown.
