Search for pilot of downed U.S. fighter jet enters second day

Iran warSearch for pilot of downed U.S. fighter jet enters second dayIran shot down a F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday, the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been downed in in combat in decades. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00A file photo of a F-15E Strike Eagle, the type of plane shot down in Iran this week.Ben Margot / AP fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 4, 2026, 12:15 PM EDTBy Matt Lavietes, Courtney Kube and Mosheh GainsThe search for the pilot of a U.S. fighter jet that went down over Iran entered its second day on Saturday, as Iranian officials denied reports that the American crew member has been detained.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.U.S. forces rescued one pilot of a two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle that was shot down over Iran Friday, according to a U.S. official. The second crew member remains missing.On Saturday, Iranian local officials — from one of the country's southern provinces — and the regional leadership of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied reports that the second pilot had been found and arrested, Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency reported. Iranian officials issued a public plea Friday for locals to find the American crew member, offering a reward equivalent of $60,000, according to official and semi-official Iranian news organizations.The loss of the American aircraft marks the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been downed in combat in decades. It also challenges Pentagon and White House claims that thousands of U.S. and Israeli strikes have wiped out Iran's missile capabilities.Iranian firepower also struck a U.S. aircraft dispatched to support the search-and-rescue mission. That aircraft — a single-seat A-10 Thunderbolt, known as the Warthog — crashed in Kuwaiti airspace after its pilot ejected safely, a U.S. official told NBC News. U.S. military helicopters were also hit by Iranian firepower, but no crew members were injured in the attack.I...