Retired F-16 pilot says rescued US airman's survival in Iran highlights intense evasion training
President Donald Trump touted the recovery mission as an 'Easter miracle' after a multiday search inside enemy territory
By Taylor Penley Fox News
Published April 5, 2026 4:20pm EDT
Downed over enemy territory and forced to evade capture, a U.S. airman’s survival highlights the high-stakes training that prepares pilots for the worst, a former Air Force fighter pilot said Sunday.
"As a F-16 fighter pilot, I'll tell you that the last thing we do before we step to go fly a combat sortie is we brief up the CSAR mission and understanding what will happen if we have to get out of that aircraft," Lt. Col. Dan Rooney told "Fox & Friends Weekend."
"And we have a motto, 'Stay ready so you don't have to get ready,'" he said.
U.S. forces rescued a missing U.S. weapons system officer from a downed F-15E in Iran following a multiday search inside enemy territory as Iranian forces simultaneously searched the area.
The pilot, who also ejected from the jet in Khuzestan Province, was rescued Friday morning.
President Donald Trump touted the recovery mission as an "Easter miracle."
Rooney said pilots undergo extensive survival and evasion training to prepare for worst-case scenarios, including being shot down behind enemy lines.
"We are very prepared to escape and evade and set ourselves up in a position to get rescued," he said.
In such situations, Rooney explained, downed airmen are trained to move quickly after ejection, avoid populated areas and remain as concealed as possible while awaiting recovery forces.
They are also trained to reach areas where rescue could be more easily achieved.
"Be small, be stealthy, get high, so you can be rescued," Rooney said, describing the basic survival principles.
Those tactics, he said, are critical in the hours and days immediately following ejection, when a downed airman is most vulnerable and must avoid detection while awaiting rescue attempts.
"It’s a race against time in these moments," Rooney said.
"And thank God that we won that race," he said.
Fox News' CJ Womack contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/retired-f-16-pilot-says-rescued-us-airmans-survival-iran-highlights-intense-evasion-training
