Fairchild crew reportedly aboard crashed tanker
UPDATED: Fri., May 3, 2013
CHALDOVAR, Kyrgyzstan — An aerial tanker jet reportedly flown by a Fairchild Air Force Base crew crashed today in the rugged mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the Central Asian nation where the U.S. operates an air base key to the war in Afghanistan.
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Florida, told Reuters News Service that the congressman was advised the KC-135 Stratotanker was based out of McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas but that it was being operated by a Fairchild crew. Fairchild Air Force Base officials would not confirm the report today.
Master Sgt. Eugene Taylor at Fairchild, located west of Spokane, acknowledged being aware of those news accounts but said he could not confirm them.
“Until the Air Force notifies the next of kin, the Air Force will not confirm where the crew was from or the aircraft,” Taylor said. “It’s just the process the Air Force has enacted to protect the personnel and their families.”
Because of the nature of the crash, the official notification could take some time, Taylor explained.
“Right now the crew is officially listed as missing because we don’t have any bodies. The airplane blew up in flight,” he said. “Because they are listed as missing, that might hold up the notification process.”
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