WASHINGTON – The remains of one of two Air Force pilots who were declared missing after their F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iraq on April 7 have been recovered and identified, the Pentagon said Friday.
The pilot was identified as Capt. Eric B. Das, 30, of Amarillo, Texas.
The Pentagon provided no details on when or how his remains were recovered. It said the whereabouts of the other F-15 pilot, whose name has not been released publicly, is still unknown.
The search for the second pilot continues, the Pentagon said. The fighter jet was reported to have been shot down near Tikrit, although the Pentagon has never publicly confirmed that.
Das' parents, Bruce and Rosie Das, issued a statement saying their son was killed on Sunday evening April 6, which was early Monday morning in Iraq. They said he was on a bombing mission in an F-15E Strike Eagle over northern Iraq when the plane went down under undetermined circumstances.
"Eric is a son that exemplified what faith in Christ, honor and duty and a life of excellence meant," the statement said. "His strong faith was an inspiration to our family, friends and his fellow servicemen, and to all who knew him."
Das and his wife, 1st Lt. Nikki Das, were both deployed to the Persian Gulf for the Iraq war, the Das family said. They were married in Amarillo on Oct. 20, 2001 and lived in Goldsboro, N.C.
An Air Force spokeswoman, Maj. Linda Haseloff, said Das' remains were found at the crash site, but she had no other information on the circumstances under which the remains were recovered.
Haseloff said the location was classified secret. She did not know when the recovery was made or by whom.
Das was assigned to the 333rd Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Wing, based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
The Pentagon announcement raised to 127 the number of Americans killed in the war. Two are still listed as missing – the other F-15 crew member and Army Sgt. Edward J. Anguiano, 24, of Brownsville, Texas, missing since his convoy was ambushed March 23 in Iraq.
No Americans are listed as prisoners of war.
