A US military refueling plane crashed in Iraq, killing 4.
[March 13, 2026]
By KIM TONG-HYUNG and ADAM SCHRECK
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. military says a KC-135 refueling
aircraft supporting operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq,
killing four of its six crew members.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash
followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly
airspace,” and that the other plane landed safely.
Here’s what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth
publicly acknowledged U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against
Iran:
The KC-135 is a long-serving tanker plane
The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force aircraft used to refuel
other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and
maintain operations longer without landing. The plane is also used to
transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct
surveillance missions, according to military experts.
Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker
has been in service for more than 60 years, supporting the U.S. Air
Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as allied aircraft, according to an
Air Force description. The aging plane is set to be phased out as the
air force receives a full complement of next-generation KC-46A Pegasus
tankers.
Despite upgrades over the years, the KC-135s' age has fueled concern
about their reliability and durability.
“The last of these planes were produced in the 1960s,” said Yang Uk, a
security expert at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He
added that the transition to the KC-46A has progressed more slowly than
expected.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year
had 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National
Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.
A basic KC-135 crew has three people: a pilot, co-pilot and boom
operator. Nurses and medical technicians are added in aeromedical
evacuation missions.
Refueling typically happens at the back of the plane, where the boom
operator is located. A fuel boom is lowered to connect with fighters,
bombers or other aircraft. On many of the planes, the boom operator
works lying face down while looking out of a window on the underside of
the plane.
Some KC-135s can also refuel planes from pods on their wings. The
tankers also have room above the fuel stores to carry cargo or
passengers if needed.
Refueling tankers could play an increasingly important role if the Iran
war drags on, as U.S. aircraft may need to fly longer missions to pursue
Iranian forces retreating deeper into the country, said Yang.
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A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling tanker aircraft takes
off from the Kadena Air Base airfield in Kadena town, west of
Okinawa, southern Japan, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Hiro
Komae, File)
Cause of crash and condition of crew not immediately known
The U.S. Central Command said four of the six crewmembers on board
the crashed KC-135 have been confirmed dead and that rescue efforts
are continuing. It said the circumstances of the crash are under
investigation but that the loss of the aircraft was “not due to
hostile or friendly fire.”
A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
the developing situation, said the other plane involved was also a
KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., wrote on
X that the other plane landed safely in Israel.
Yang said it would be rare for a refueling tanker to be downed by
enemy fire because such operations are usually conducted in the rear
of combat zones.
The crash came after three U.S. F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly
downed last week by friendly Kuwaiti fire.
Past accidents
KC-135s have previously been involved in several fatal accidents.
The most recent occurred on May 3, 2013, when a KC-135R crashed
after takeoff south of Chaldovar, Kyrgyzstan, while supporting the
war in Afghanistan.
In that crash, the crew experienced problems with the plane’s
rudder, according to a U.S. Air Force investigation. While they
struggled to stabilize the plane, the tail section broke away and
the plane exploded midair, killing all three crewmembers onboard.
The most serious mid-air collision involving the plane happened in
1966, when a B-52 bomber carrying nuclear bombs struck a tanker near
Palomares, Spain.
The accident caused the tanker to crash, killing four onboard. The
disaster led to an extensive decontamination effort to clean up
nuclear material dispersed when conventional explosives in the
hydrogen bombs detonated after hitting the ground.
___
Schreck reported from Bangkok. AP writers Ben Finley and Konstantin
Toropin in Washington contributed.
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