A U.s. Military Refueling Plane Crashed In Iraq, Killing 4. Here's What To Know

SEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. subject says a KC-135 refueling craft supporting operations against Iran collapsed successful occidental Iraq, sidesplitting 4 of its six unit members.

The U.S. Central Command, which oversees nan Middle East, said nan clang followed an unspecified incident involving 2 craft successful “friendly airspace,” and that nan different level landed safely.

Here’s what is known truthful acold astir nan tanker, which is nan 4th publically acknowledged U.S. craft to clang during nan warfare against Iran:

The KC-135 is simply a long-serving tanker plane

The KC-135 Stratotanker is simply a U.S. Air Force craft utilized to refuel different planes successful midair, allowing them to recreation longer distances and support operations longer without landing. The level is besides utilized to carrier wounded unit during aesculapian evacuations aliases behaviour surveillance missions, according to subject experts.

Based connected nan aforesaid creation arsenic nan Boeing 707 rider plane, nan tanker has been successful work for much than 60 years, supporting nan U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps arsenic good arsenic allied aircraft, according to an Air Force description. The aging level is group to beryllium gradually phased retired arsenic much of nan next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tankers participate service.

Despite upgrades complete nan years, nan KC-135s’ property has fueled interest astir their reliability and durability.

“The past of these planes were produced successful nan 1960s,” said nan Uk, a information master astatine South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He added that nan modulation to nan KC-46A has progressed much slow than expected.

According to nan Congressional Research Service, nan Air Force past twelvemonth had 376 KC-135s, including 151 connected progressive duty, 163 successful nan Air National Guard and 62 successful nan Air Force Reserve.

A basal KC-135 unit has 3 people: a pilot, co-pilot and roar operator. Nurses and aesculapian technicians are added successful aeromedical removal missions.

Refueling typically happens astatine nan backmost of nan plane, wherever nan roar usability is located. A substance roar is lowered to link pinch fighters, bombers aliases different aircraft. On galore of nan planes, nan roar usability useful lying look down while looking retired of a model connected nan underside of nan plane.

Some KC-135s tin besides refuel planes from pods connected their wings. The tankers besides person room to transportation cargo aliases passengers if needed.

Refueling tankers could play an progressively important domiciled if nan Iran warfare drags on, arsenic U.S. craft whitethorn request to alert longer missions to prosecute Iranian forces retreating deeper into nan country, said Yang.

The U.S. Central Command said 4 of nan six crewmembers connected committee nan collapsed KC-135 person been confirmed dormant and that rescue efforts are continuing. It said nan circumstances of nan clang are nether investigation but that nan nonaccomplishment of nan craft was “not owed to dispute aliases friends fire.”

A U.S. official, who besides said connected information of anonymity to talk nan processing situation, said nan different level progressive was besides a KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, nan Israeli ambassador to nan U.S., wrote connected X that nan different level landed safely successful Israel.

Yang said it would beryllium uncommon for a refueling tanker to beryllium downed by force occurrence because specified operations are usually conducted successful nan rear of combat zones.

The clang came aft 3 U.S. F-15E combatant jets were mistakenly downed past week by friends Kuwaiti fire.

Past accidents

KC-135s person antecedently been progressive successful respective fatal accidents. The astir caller occurred connected May 3, 2013, erstwhile a KC-135R collapsed aft takeoff southbound of Chaldovar, Kyrgyzstan, while supporting nan warfare successful Afghanistan.

In that crash, nan unit knowledgeable problems pinch nan plane’s rudder, according to a U.S. Air Force investigation. While they struggled to stabilize nan plane, nan tail conception collapsed distant and nan level exploded midair, sidesplitting each 3 crewmembers onboard.

The astir superior mid-air collision involving nan level happened successful 1966, erstwhile a B-52 bomber carrying atomic bombs struck a tanker adjacent Palomares, Spain.

The mishap caused nan tanker to crash, sidesplitting 4 onboard. The disaster led to an extended decontamination effort to cleanable up atomic worldly dispersed erstwhile accepted explosives successful nan hydrogen bombs detonated aft hitting nan ground.

Tong-Hyung and Schreck constitute for nan Associated Press. Schreck reported from Bangkok. AP writers Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin successful Washington contributed.