As the Iranian Hostage Crisis was still dragging on, President Carter was trying to negotiate with the Iranians to get the fifty two American hostages that were being held by the Iranians back safely into the United States. Unfortunately the Iranians were being stubborn and only agreed to give the hostages back in exchange for the recently overthrown Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was getting medical attention in the US. Unknown by the Iranians, the US was planning a rescue mission to steal the hostages out of Iran and back into the United States where they belong. This rescue mission would be launched on April twenty fourth 1980 by sending eight military helicopters to land at the US Embassy building, get the hostages out of the building safely, and flee into the Iranian desert where six military airplanes would be waiting for them to take them back to the US, this mission was called "Operation Eagle Claw."
Unfortunately "Operation Eagle Claw" did not work. The mission was called off because three helicopters malfunctioned, and the fourth helicopter pilot couldn't see because of the sandstorm, as a result he crashed into one of the airplanes killing eight military servicemen. When Iran got the news of the rescue attempt they split the hostages up into different locations. A second rescue plan was created but never launched. The failure of "Operation Eagle Claw" was very disappointing because none of the hostages were brought back into the United States.
Unfortunately "Operation Eagle Claw" did not work. The mission was called off because three helicopters malfunctioned, and the fourth helicopter pilot couldn't see because of the sandstorm, as a result he crashed into one of the airplanes killing eight military servicemen. When Iran got the news of the rescue attempt they split the hostages up into different locations. A second rescue plan was created but never launched. The failure of "Operation Eagle Claw" was very disappointing because none of the hostages were brought back into the United States.