In the first critical hours after the incident, the pilot was unable to send any distress signal because he was unconscious and suffering from a concussion after ejecting from his F-15. When he finally regained awareness, he acted quickly to avoid detection. By Friday at 12:00 PM, initial contact was successfully established. To stay out of sight, he climbed to the highest point he could find, keeping away from Iranian vehicles searching the area.
After moving carefully through the terrain, he walked approximately 10 to 12 kilometers before finding a safe hiding spot in a ravine. From there, he waited until nightfall on Friday to transmit his precise coordinates. This allowed rescue planners to locate him accurately while minimizing the risk of exposing his position.
During this time, Israel played a key supporting role. They refrained from launching attacks near his location to avoid endangering him, while also providing intelligence to assist the rescue. Throughout Friday and into Saturday, Israel was further tasked with maintaining air superiority in the area and carried out strikes on targets considered relevant to the operation.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces began preparing the extraction. They secured an agricultural field located about 18 kilometers from where the pilot was hiding. Once the area was under control, two planes and approximately 2 small helicopters landed at the site. The helicopters then flew out to the ravine, successfully locating and rescuing the navigator before transporting him back to the secured field.
However, complications arose during the evacuation. As preparations were made to depart, two C-130 planes became stuck in the sand, creating a serious risk. In response, three smaller aircraft were quickly deployed to ensure the navigator and accompanying special forces could still be extracted safely. To prevent the disabled planes from falling into Iranian hands, fighter jets carried out airstrikes and destroyed the two stranded aircraft before leaving the area.