\u201cYou\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my God, I was in a fighter jet two minutes ago, flying 500 miles an hour, and a missile just exploded, literally 15 feet from your head,\u2019\u201d said retired brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who is now at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.<\/p>\n
That said, a pilot\u2019s training \u2014 known as survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) \u2014 would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour best view of where you may want to go or where you may want to avoid is while you\u2019re coming down in your parachute,\u201d Cantwell said.<\/p>\n
Cantwell logged 400 hours of combat flight experience, including missions over Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Parachuting to the ground risks foot, ankle, and leg injuries, the former airman explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are many stories of survivors from Vietnam that had severe injuries \u2014 compound fractures \u2014 just from the ejection,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Upon landing, \u201ctake an inventory of yourself to figure out, what condition am I in? Can I even move? Am I even mobile?\u201d Aviators then figure out where they are, whether it is behind enemy lines, where they can hide, and how they can communicate.<\/p>\n \u201cTry to avoid enemy capture, as long as you can,\u201d Cantwell said. \u201cAnd if I were in a desert environment, I\u2019d want to try to find some water.\u201d Simultaneously, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) teams \u2014 highly trained soldiers and pilots already on alert \u2014 would be activated.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives you tremendous peace of mind, knowing that, you know, they\u2019re going to do everything they can to come get you,\u201d Cantwell said. \u201cAt the same time, they\u2019re not going to come on a suicide mission.\u201d That\u2019s where the missing crewmember can increase the odds of a safe rescue.<\/p>\n \u201cMy priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don\u2019t want to be captured,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to try to get to a location where I can get extracted.\u201d In a city, that may be a rooftop. In a rural setting, a field where helicopters can land. Movement is best at night, he said.<\/p>\n Cantwell said that when he flew, he also carried a pistol.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in a \u201cready room,\u201d CSAR soldiers like retired master sergeant Scott Fales suit up.<\/p>\n Experts like Fales \u2014 a pararescue jumper who played a key role in the 1993 \u201cBlack Hawk Down\u201d incident in Mogadishu, Somalia \u2014 are always standing by whenever US aircraft are over enemy territory.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore any operations are conducted\u2026 there is always a CSAR plan,\u201d Fales told AFP.<\/em><\/p>\n Simultaneously, an immense amount of intelligence is gathered and analysed on the location and status of the missing aviator.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything from human intelligence to imagery intelligence, to you know, all the different drones we have looking \u2014 signals intelligence,\u201d Fales said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all being used to try to find this guy.\u201d Once the missing aviator is located, a rescue plan is formulated in real time inside the helicopters.<\/p>\n \u201cThose gunners are spotting and looking for threats, the pilots are looking for a place to land, we\u2019re reaching out to that downed aviator,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On the ground, they ensure the pilot is actually the person they are searching for, and a threat-versus-medical-needs assessment is done.<\/p>\n In their minds, Fales said: \u201cWhat kind of immediate threat are we in? How much time do we have to get this person out? What kind of injuries do they have? And then we\u2019ll make up our mind on the type, amount of treatment that\u2019s needed on the scene \u2014 or do we just grab and go depending on the threat?\u201d With a fellow soldier still unaccounted for in southwest Iran, Fales said he\u2019s \u201cvery hopeful\u201d the aviator will be located.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping that friendly people have found him and are hiding him,\u201d he said. \u201cOr he\u2019s still evading. \u201c<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/04\/04100247ba98c79.webp\")
<\/div><\/a>Rescue mission<\/h2>\n
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