tonight on "nightline," men down. after two americans eject from their fighter jet over libya, we have the latest on their daring rescue, and we'll take you on a rare ride in an f-15 in combat. and with so many questions about this sudden war, abc gets exclusive answers from hill little cli hillary clinton. survival of the richest. what is in a disaster survival kit for the rich? we'll show you. and, pop star blowup. after he's asked about his past with ex-girlfriend rihanna, chris brown storms off the "good morning america" set and here's his dressing room. we'll have the inside story of what really happened backstage.

from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in tnew york city, this is "nightline," march 22nd, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. sure, america has a dozen countries now helping attack moammar gadhafi, and yes, president obama promised to execute a quote, exit strategy this week. but none of that could have mattered to a pair of young americans the moment they ditched their f-15 and rode parachutes into the dark desert. for the latest on the closest of calls in this young war, we turn to the only reporter ever to fly a u.s. combat mission. martha raddatz has tonight's "target libya" report. >> reporter: late last night, the two-man crew of the f-15 strike eagle took off from aviano air base. their mission? take out deadly air defenses in libya. this is what flying in one of those 40-ton, $60 million

fighter jets is like, as i learned when i flew a combat mission in an identical plan in afghanistan last year. the takeoff in an f-15 is exhilarating. the power, indescribable. we rocket up to 20,000 feet in just over a minute. our aircraft, like all in war zones, laden with thousands of pounds of bombs. >> confirm the hos times are still in that tree line. >> reporter: our mission, a deadly serious one. provide air support for troops on the ground. >> you are clear hot. clear hot. >> reporter: suspected enemy combat dances with 20 millimeter cannon rounds to protect friendly forces. back to the f-15 in libya, the moment of crisis came at 11:30 p.m. local time. there is an urgent mechanical

malfunction. >> there's an element of shock. >> reporter: this retired marine fighter pilot has spent more than 4,000 hours in the cockpit. >> it's all time compression. you've gone from focusing on this mission to the ground to saving your airplane and potentially have to get out and land on the ground in enemy territory. >> reporter: the f-15 goes down in possibly hostile territory, 25 miles east of benghazi, the city controlled by the opposition. pilot and weapons officer are forced to eject. >> it's a very violent moment. you pull that handle that's between your legs and your shot up on a rocket about 20 gs, a big kick in the seat and you are thrown out into wind blast, blown, tumbled around and all of a sudden, quiet, as your parachute opens. now you're coming down in this quiet, thinking about, okay, what are the things i need to do? >> reporter: you have equipment, radios, maps, all sorts of things, right?

>> right. you have a side arm, personal protection. but these are things that have been trained for for years. how do you protect yourself? where do you sleep at night? all of this is years of training that goes into the automatic mode when the crews hit the ground. >> reporter: and that is exactly what happened in libya. meanwhile, rescue teams had gone into action. at 1:33, jets pa trofling the skies above drop two 500-pound bombs to secure the area. >> the intent of dropping that was not to kill people. it was to warn them off and please stay away from this guy because we're trying to get to him. >> reporter: the force of the blast injured numerous civilians but allowed rescue planes to approach. >> it takes a lot of courage by air force, marine and army crews that do this for a living in terms of picking up downed people or rescuing people. but every pilot's best friend. >> reporter: at 2:38 a.m., three

hours after he went down, the f-15 pilot is rescued. the weapons officer, meanwhile, is protected by friendly local forces and taken to benghazi, where he is treated to tea and snacks until he is later transferred to an american ship. 27-year-old pilot. >> yeah. pretty amazing. pretty amazing. it will be a story they will get to tell for the rest of their life and i'd like to hear story about hearing tea with the rebels in benghazi, that weapons system office their was in the backseat, got to experience. a happy ending overall. >> reporter: the scene of the crash today was almost like a tourist attraction, as parents brought their kids to see this hulking piece of american war machinery. its wings and tail fins almost the only recognizable part. the rest, burned almost beyond recognition. "at first, we were scared. we thought it was a gadhafi plane that would strike us," this man said. "then we saw the plane was on fire, spinning around, and

realized it was not a libyan plane." still, it is now clear, america's role in the war has been far greater than any of the allies. i'm martha raddatz for "nightline" in washington. >> our thanks to martha for that. and with so many questions squirreling over america's role in this fight, and how quickly we get out, secretary of state hillary clinton sat down for an exclusive interview with diane sawyer. >> i think it's moving well. the work that the united states and our allies have been doing to take out the air defense systems will enable the united states to do what we said we would do, which is to fulfill this initial phase and then to transition to the no-fly zone and the work that will be led by our partners. >> reporter: will it be nato? >> nato will be involved. we do have a lot of nato members

who are committed to this process and, you know, they want to see command and control that is organized. but we also are integrating others from outside of nato. but i'm very relaxed about it, diane. i think it is -- it's proceeding it's moving forward in the right direction and we will have what we need in the next few days. >> reporter: moammar gadhafi. will this intervention be a success if he's still in power? >> well, i think we have to separate the two sides of the equation, if you will. the united nations security council resolution was very proud, but explicit about what was legally authorized by the international community. and we are 100% committed to enforcing it and helping others enforce it. there's nothing in there about getting rid of anybody. it is about protecting

civilians, providing humanitarian assistance. but also, enabling nations to use whatever means necessary in order to bring that about. >> our thanks to diane sawyer for that. and in just a moment, you can see what the rich know about survival that you don't, as the family of bernard madoff tries to sell you a $2,000 disaster kit. what's all this? big news! we have another way to help you save. oh, really? how? by bundling. if you get your homeowners and auto insurance together, we give you even more savings. ooh! big bundle. [ chuckling ] home and auto together. it's like peanut butter and jelly. oh, or like burgers and fries. or pickles and ice cream. unicorns and glitter! no? bundling to save you more. now, that's progressive!

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. >> you remember the calgon take me away commercial? boy, if only someone could come up with a quake-stopping, reactor patching bubble bath. until then, we have the disas ere preparedness industry. it's booming. and jumping into the upper end of that business is one family with huge name recognition. here's john berman. >> reporter: japan. earthquake. tsunami. nuclear terror. fear strikes the u.s. do we need iodine pills? is the radiation coming? will my family be okay? where do you go for answers,

advice, guidance? how about the madoff family? yes, that madoff family. >> mr. madoff, what would you say to all the people that lost money? what would you say to them? >> reporter: why should people take you seriously? >> why not? i'm a mom. i'm facing the same challenges they are. >> reporter: katherine hooper is the president of black umbrella, a disaster management company. she is also engaged to andrew madoff, the youngest son of bernard madoff, now in prison for defrauding investors of billions. andrew, 44 years old, and the only surviving child, used to work for his father. >> sorry, i have no comment. >> reporter: now, he's black umbrella's director of operations. when people call, do they know who you are, do they know your family connections? >> i'm not going to talk about that. >> reporter: the company, based in manhattan, helps families plan for all kinds of disasters. and business these days? our business has increased 300% over this week. >> reporter: why is this so

important for families? >> it's so important because in any of the types of calamities we face, pre-planning radically improves your survival odds. so, if you want to be great at thinking in the moment, acting, getting your children reuniting and getting to safety, having thought through the steps in advance gives you that ability to think on your feet. >> reporter: who are your clinlts? families with young children. >> reporter: and families with money. $750 giets you a meeting with a adviser and aluminum contact cards. why alum num? >> it's waterproof. >> reporter: you get a detailed communication and reunification plan with your family, including escape routes and meeting points. as included, go bags with some things you might not think of, like giant magic markers. >> what this does for you, in a real marriage, is give you the ability to leave a message

anywhere and on any surface. >> reporter: $1,450 gives you two extra cards, data storage nor important dock yums and disaster practice with an expert. $2,000, all that, plus unlimited cards, unlimited practices and unlimited consultations with ocean perts. this isn't cheap. >> no, it's not. that's why it's so important to emphasize this is something that people can do for themselves. personal trainers aren't cheap, either. people hire those when they absolutely can't make it happen for themselves. >> reporter: meredith in brooklyn has been a client for more than a year. on this day, a black umbrella employee is meeting with her to update her family's emergency plan to incorporate needs for their new baby. >> subway lines, any bus lines. >> yeah, that's good. actually, especially for our babysitter, who i don't think she's been to either of those two locations. >> reporter: there is no

question that preparedness, whether you pay for it or not, is essential for every family. but we know what you're thinking. did meredith know the company's madoff connection? does she care? >> it didn't have any impact at all and i don't even know why that's a relevant question. >> reporter: hooper only agreed to talk to us under the promise we would not ask directly about the madoff family. i do have to ask, how has what's happened with you and your family affected your thinking on this? >> well, every family has ups and downs and, my thinking on this is the same as everybody's. >> reporter: andrew was with us during the interview, but said his lawyers advised him not to speak with us on camera. as far as we know, he is not talking to either of his parents. hiss brother mark committed suicide in december. talk about a family in crisis. he told "the new york times" last year, "i think that what happened to me illustrated to me how important it is to be prepared for unexpected events.

i'm just another example." hooper has experienced running a high end fishing store and has extensive survival training. she says she was inspired in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. watching families recover. but you get the sense she has also watched families recover from the ruin caused by bernie madoff. are you willing to help people repair for financial disasters? >> parts of this process help through all kinds of disasters that are much more personal than a fire or a flood. >> reporter: personal, indeed. i'm john berman for "nightline" in new york. >> john berman with a sobering sign of the times. our thanks to him. and up next, chris brown was asked about ex-girlfriend rihanna today, and then, this happened. we have the inside story of a backstage blowup. make sure you get a shot of that hairpiece.

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since pleading guilty to felony assault on ex-girlfriend

rihanna, singer chris brown has been faced with serious image repair work and he may have take an step back today when an appearance on "good morning america" ended with a shaken staff, a shirtless brown and a pane of shattered glass. here's chris connelly with what really happened. >> reporter: chris brown's singing career has had its share of high notes. but it took more than a b-flat to break this. a shattered window in the r & b vocalists "good morning america" dressing room above times square. >> thank you for sitting down for just a moment doctor. >> reporter: following this interview with "good morning america's" robin roberts, which touched on the aftermath of brown's 2009 felony conviction for assaulting his then-girlfriend rihanna. >> recently the restraining order against you that reyoon that had issued has been relaxed. have you all seen each other, been around each other? >> not really. it's not a big deal to me now. i think definitely this album is what i want them to talk about

and not the stuff that happened two years ago. ♪ >> reporter: but what happened minutes later didn't exactly change the subject. after this live performance, the 21-year-old brown stormed off the set and was said to be and stated back stage as he rejoined his entourage. this window in his dressing room was broken. when brown left the building, he wasn't wearing a shirt. hours later, wearing glasses, a grin and, yes, a shirt, brown headed to an art gallery after tweeting, i'm so over people bringing this past up. yet we chaise charlie sheen and other celebs for their -- minutes later, he deleted that tweet, and thanked his fans for support. this album is for you and only you. i'm so tired of everyone else. abc news released a statement, saying, as always, we ask questions that are relevant and news worthy. and that's what we did in this

interview with mr. brown. tonight, in his album release party, fans had this to day. >> doesn't change my opinion of him. because he's a man and he's young, he's a teenager. he's growing up. >> i still love him. he's the bad boy. i love him. >> reporter: after his sentence income 2009, brown spoke to robin roberts about his personal issues. and his sense of regret. >> my temper, i think, when i say -- i was wrong for what i did. i would definitely say that it's not something that i look past or look over. it's something that's really touchy and, and like i said, i'm really sorry for what went down and what happened. and by no means do i think it's necessary or acceptable. >> reporter: the judge overseeing the case has braised brown to his commitment to the conditions of his probation, including receiving domestic

violence counseling. brown has displayed on twitter the diploma he was awarded for completing that course. today's incident comes in the middle of a relaunch of sorts for brown, starting last year with this tribute to michael jackson at the 2010 b.e.t. awards. now coming off a fiscal of recent hits, well received "saturday night live" performance last month. in its first day of release, chris brown's cd "fame" sits atop the itunes chart. and including the secret "look at me now." today, it was kind of hard not to. i'm chris connelly for "nightline" in new york. >> our thanks to chris for that. and much more on chris brown tomorrow on "good morning america." while you sleep, they work to bring you the very latest from libya, japan and everything in between. thanks for watching abc news. terry moran will be here tomorrow night.