Behind him his F15 Strike Eagle was a burning wreck. He had parachuted into a field of sheep somewhere near Benghazi airbase and needed to escape - his fellow crew member had landed in another field nearby.
Raising his hands in the air he called out "OK, OK" to greet the crowd. But he need not have worried.
"I hugged him and said don't be scared we are your friends," said Younis Amruni, 27.
The airman was one of dozens taking to the air to patrol a no-fly zone over Libya and take out Col Gaddafi's air defences.
They have turned the tide in the desert war, helping rebels keep the government from attacking their stronghold in Benghazi, about 45 minutes drive away.
A queue formed to shake the hand of the airman, as locals thanked him for his role in the attacks.
Witnesses said it was around midnight when they heard two planes streak out of the Libyan sky.
Mohamed Breek came out of his home a couple of hundred yards away to see what was happening above his flower-studded meadow.
"It was on fire," he said. "We didn't hear any shots it just fell from the sky by itself and then there was a big explosion."
A rescue helicopter swooped low to collect the second crew member - and strafed the ground to keep the locals at bay.
Bullets tore through Mr Amruni's driveway and gate.
"We are so grateful to these men who are protecting the skies," he said. "We gave him juice and then the revolutionary military people took him away."
On Tuesday morning the blackened wreckage was still smouldering. A guided missile lay at its side. The wings had been ripped from the long-range bomber and its two tail fins stood high above the grass, attracting opposition supporters and souvenir hunters alike.
