OSINT Report: The pilot of the F-15E "Strike Eagle" shot down over Iran on April 3 is no stranger to misfortune
Less than five weeks prior to this incident, the pilot was involved in a high-profile accident: his F-15E was mistakenly hit by a Kuwaiti F/A-18 aircraft, resulting in friendly fire.
The U.S. military has stated that this pilot may become the first American pilot since the end of the Vietnam War to have two fixed-wing aircraft shot down during the same conflict.
It should be noted that aviation regulations are extremely strict: once a pilot ejects or experiences a major flight accident, they are required to be grounded. Ejection is extremely traumatic to the human body—during ejection, the pilot endures 15 to 20 G-forces instantaneously, which can easily cause spinal compression (temporary shortening of height by several centimeters), bone fractures, hematomas, and concussions.
According to standard procedures, the pilot should undergo MRI scans, multiple physical examinations, rehabilitation therapy, and psychological counseling—a full process that typically takes several months.
The U.S. Air Force has a mature grounding and re-evaluation system; after a single ejection injury, pilots are normally required to rest for months. Yet this pilot returned to flight operations shortly afterward and suffered the destruction of two aircraft in succession—clearly violating standard U.S. military operational protocols. Such a scenario is extremely rare among active-duty U.S. fixed-wing fighter pilots.
The consecutive incidents of friendly fire and cross-border aircraft shootdowns indirectly reveal serious disorganization in U.S. air operations over the Middle East, obvious flaws in airspace coordination and control, and failures in personnel scheduling and flight health screening systems.
If confirmed, this pilot will set a rare negative record among post-war U.S. fixed-wing fighter pilots, very likely triggering an internal special investigation into flight safety. This could compel the U.S. military to revise its post-accident re-flight approval procedures for pilots.
Original Source: toutiao.com/article/1866943194415116/
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