of the jet. other pilots in the air at the time say they did not see enemy fire. seven u.s. military aircraft were launched from their bases in the mediterranean to take part in the recovery. two u.s. carrier jets flew cover for the mission and defense officials confirmed dropped two bomb to separate the pilot from suspected enemy approach. the downed pilot was back on board two hours after rescuers launched from the marine ship. the second airman landed in opposition held territory and hid in a sheep tent. this man says he was shot by a u.s. military jet that strifeed his field. as the weapons officer went down. but says he bears no grudge. they helped rescue the airman. they confirm shots were fired adding the crash and the rescue are both now under investigation. reporter: meanwhile, coalition forces launched 25
time before becoming separated. diana is aboard the ship that helped rescue them. hi there, diana. tell us what happened. reporter: well, i apologize for the noise. obviously we are onboard a vessel which is carrying a lot of the jets carrying out regular strike missions into eastern libya as part of operation odyssey freedom. and one of them down there is conducting a high-speed turn, they re testing out the engine, which is why you re hearing this noise. what happened is on monday night this f-15e u.s. fighter jet suffered problems over eastern libya. the pilot and his weapons officer were forced to eject. because of the speeds they were flying at, they ejected and landed in two completely separate locations. and so a rescue mission was
and libyans found the weapons officer. i am speaking with him and i kiss him and i tell him you are coming for us. you are our brothers. so don t be afraid. you will be safe. we will carry you anyplace you want. for more details on the crash and the recovery, i want to bring in our pentagon correspondent barbara starr and also arwa damon who is in bengazi. i want to start with you, barbara, because you were essentially at the site. can you tell us what happened when those two crew members ejected from the plane pair shu parachuted to the ground and had no idea they were going to come across some civilians? they said they realized the fighter jet was in distress when they saw it crash. everyone living in the area rushed out of their homes,
combing through. they did manage to find the weapons officer. you heard the colonel talking about in the beginning he was very hesitant to come out, not realizing if he was in friendly oren my territory. eventually he did make it safely out of libya. the colonel did tell us at some point during this rescue effort, whatever it was, the second fighter jet overhead or the other aircraft that came in, fired on civilians. the colonel said he believed it was because they were trying to protect their own men on the ground. five people were wounded, none of them life-threatening, although one man we re told did lose his leg. the population in the area, though, interestingly, not all that upset in the sense that they re very understanding that these servicemen didn t know if they were in friendly oren my territory, the military not knowing if their own men were in friendly or enemy territory. really wanting to put forward a
officer. the plane preparing for an air strike carries heavy weaponry. at 11:33 p.m. equipment failure. the weapons officer ejects first. followed within a second by the pilot. the two parachuting down into the darkness. the pilot, separated from his partner, holds a gps beacon and a pistol. he sees villagers approaching and radios for help. just after 1:30 a.m. u.s. jets arrive dropping two 500-pound bombs to push back the unidentified group. at 2:19 a.m., two ospreys reach the fighter pilot. they re not needed. one of the ospreys land and the stranded pilot is rescued. the second crew member landed in a nearby field. the 27-year-old injured his ankles but he was okay. he hid near a farm. there was confusion. the airman thought the villagers were gadhafi forces but they weren t. they gave the crew member food and juice and helped him get