4 service members have been killed when their refueling plane “went down” in pleasant airspace in western Iraq, in accordance with U.S. Central Command.
“4 of six crew members on board the plane have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts proceed,” CENTCOM stated Friday.
The KC-135 plane went down at roughly 2 p.m. ET when two plane have been concerned in “an incident,” CENTCOM stated in a quick assertion Thursday, confirming that “one of many plane went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.”
Gen. Dan Caine addressed the crashed refueling aircraft, saying the incident is being handled as an lively rescue and restoration mission.
A US Air Power Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling plane flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. Israel launched contemporary strikes on Iran and Lebanon, the place state media reported a residential constructing was hit on March 4, as Iran’s Guards stated that they had sealed off one of many world’s most significant delivery routes for vitality.
Jack Guez/AFP through Getty Photographs
“The incident occurred over pleasant territory in western Iraq whereas the crew was on a fight mission, and once more, was not the end result, as CENTCOM has stated, was not the results of hostile or pleasant hearth,” Caine stated Friday. “We’re nonetheless treating this as an lively rescue and restoration operation, as CENTCOM introduced this morning, 4 airmen have been recovered, and the Air Power and US Central Command will present updates as data turns into accessible.”
The opposite plane concerned was additionally a KC-135 tanker, in accordance with a U.S. official.
The circumstances of the incident are at present underneath investigation and the identities of the service members who died within the incident are being withheld till 24 hours after subsequent of kin have been notified, officers stated.
KC-135 plane should not outfitted with parachutes and would not have ejection seats, that are primarily in fighter plane, officers have advised ABC Information.
Passengers and crew members of KC-135s as an alternative are skilled on the best way to exit the plane when it’s on land or on water, officers stated.
In line with a 2008 Air Power profile of the tanker crews, the transfer to eliminate parachutes was made as a result of the tankers “seldom have mishaps, and the probability a KC-135 crew member would ever want to make use of a parachute is extraordinarily low.”
It is a growing story. Please test again for updates.
