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Army Airborne Hero Calls BS on ‘60 Minutes’ Pilot’s Claims
The Daily Beast • • nation
Key Points:
- Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey criticized a 60 Minutes segment featuring a rescued airman, disputing the airman's account of a parachute operation in high winds, calling it implausible based on his military experience.
- The segment highlighted the airman, identified as "Bravo," who survived a damaged parachute descent and a 50-hour evasion in Iran after his F-15 was shot down, emphasizing his reliance on faith alongside training.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared in the segment and pushed for both airmen involved to be interviewed on camera, despite concerns about revealing classified information, with the Department of Defense supporting their participation.
- The 60 Minutes premiere drew its lowest viewership in decades, with about 7.94 million viewers and a significant drop in the key 25-54 demographic, amid mixed reactions and skepticism from audiences.
- The episode aired under CBS News leadership by Bari Weiss, whose efforts to appeal to conservative viewers have sparked debate about the network's editorial direction.
