According to Fox News, these are C-130 Hercules aircraft that became stuck in mud and were unable to take off from a temporary base established by U.S. forces during the operation. This American media outlet further claims that U.S. forces, aware they could not extract the aircraft, decided to destroy them and then leave Iranian territory. On the other hand, Iran claims that the aircraft, along with two additional Black Hawk helicopters, were shot down in intense clashes that lasted throughout the U.S. rescue operation for the pilot. Simultaneously, several additional aircraft arrived from a nearby base coordinating the action, providing support to U.S. soldiers who successfully rescued a crew member. According to U.S. media reports, after being evacuated from the damaged aircraft, the pilot traveled several kilometers from the landing site and climbed hundreds of meters up a ridge, where he waited for 48 hours to be evacuated. Fox News claims that the CIA played a key role in locating and rescuing this pilot, reportedly conducting a campaign within Iran aimed at confusing Iranian soldiers, who were also searching for the pilot. At the same time, as U.S. media reports, the CIA worked on precisely locating the pilot to organize this operation, which ultimately ended successfully for U.S. forces.