(7 of 10)
Actually, two aircraft were ablaze. One of the helicopters had refueled on the ground from a C130. When the large plane's tank ran dry, the chopper lifted slightly to move toward another C-130 to pick up more fuel. But in doing so, the pilot turned his RH-53 too abruptly; its rotary blade ripped into the transport's fuselage. Instantly, flames roared through the two aircraft. Ammunition began exploding, striking other aircraft. Three Americans in the Hercules were killed. Five died in the Sea Stallion. Four others sustained severe burns, one of them hauled to safety out of the blazing C-130 by heroic efforts.
Meanwhile, a truck had come down the road and the driver escaped after a headlight was shot out by the U.S. troops. The unexpected traffic along the remote road, the certainty of discovery, the deaths of their comrades and the need to get the burn victims to hospitals all forced a difficult decision: the Americans had to leave the desert immediately. There was no time to let the aircraft wreckage cool to recover the bodies. Instead, the rescuers had to rescue themselves. They climbed into the remaining C-130s and took off.
Back in the White House, the crisis managers had gathered earlier. Mondale, Brzezinski, Vance, Brown, Jordan and Jody Powell jammed into the President's small study. They discussed how, if at all, the news of the embarrassing failure should be broken. Some leaned toward remaining mum, letting Iranian authorities deal with the desert wreckage and the night's mysterious events in any fashion that they chose.
But then, at 6:21 p.m. (Washington time), the President learned for the first time about the fiery accident and the injuries. Minutes later he heard the worst: eight Americans were dead. Stunned, Carter agreed that the tragedy could not be concealed but that the first priority was to get the survivors to safety. At 7:30 p.m., the word arrived: the team was off the ground and flying out of Iran.
Now the worst was over, but there were still great worries. Would the emotional militants at the U.S. embassy carry out their threats to kill the American hostages once they learned that an attempt had been made to free them by force? Would the mobs in Tehran go on any new rampage? How would the allies react? What about Soviet leaders? Just how much of the secret rescue plans could still be protected—and who might yet be hurt if they were not?
The President and his men moved into the larger Cabinet Room and sat down to a dinner of sandwiches. As they talked about limiting the damage, they were joined by Turner, who had been following the unfolding events from his CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. While Carter telephoned some foreign leaders and key members of Congress, Vance directed his staff at the State Department to get ready to inform the relatives of the hostages. The meeting ended at midnight, but each participant returned to his own office to work on into the night.
At 2 a.m. on Friday, Carter asked his staff to find a copy of John F. Kennedy's remarks following the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion. Indeed, the phrases he used in his broadcast five hours later were highly reminiscent of Kennedy's remarks after the earlier failure. At 3 a.m. Rosalynn Carter arrived home from campaigning in Texas to be with her husband.