US Airman's Capture Exposed Iran-Contra Arms Scandal

Eugene Hasenfus, whose capture during a covert mission helped reveal the Iran-Contra affair, has died at age 84. In 1986, Nicaraguan forces shot down a cargo plane carrying Hasenfus and three others. The men were illegally transporting weapons to Contra rebels fighting Nicaragua's government. Hasenfus, the sole survivor, was captured. His interrogation exposed a secret US operation. The Reagan administration was secretly selling arms to Iran and using the profits to fund the Contras, bypassing a congressional ban. The scandal severely damaged the reputations of President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush. Hasenfus, convicted in Nicaragua but later pardoned, returned to a quiet life in the United States.