KC-135 reported down in Iraq; rescue underway

A KC-135 tanker aircraft has crashed over western Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.

U.S. Central Command has not disclosed where the refueling tanker and its crew were based.

Two aircraft were involved in the mishap, which was not caused by hostile or friendly fire, Central Command said in a news release. The second aircraft, reported by CBS News, was another KC-135 tanker. It was able to land safely in Israel.

Rescue efforts were ongoing as of Thursday evening in western Iraq.

The status of the crew, including how many service members were on board the KC-135, has not been released. The KC-135 generally has a crew of three, however, the number can vary depending on the mission. CNN reported that the plane that crashed had at least five crew members aboard.

A spokeswoman for Central Command, Maj. Emma Thompson, said she couldn’t identify the aircraft’s unit until after the crew’s next of kin has been notified.

This is the first loss of a refueling tanker during wartime since the May 3, 2013 crash of a KC-135, dubbed Shell 77, which went down in Kyrgyzstan. The crew – Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney, Capt. Mark T. Voss, and T/Sgt. Herman Mackey III – were members of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing based at Fairchild Air Force Base. They were flying in support of operations in Afghanistan.

Before that, according to Air Mobility Command, four KC-135s were lost, two during takeoff and two during landing, during operations in the Vietnam War. None were lost to hostile fire.

About 100 members of a Washington Air National Guard unit stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base have been activated to support the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, the Washington Military Department said earlier this week.

Department spokeswoman Karina Shagren confirmed earlier this week the activation of the 141st Air Refueling Wing. She referred other questions to the Defense Department, where a spokesperson would not confirm if the Air Force’s 92nd Air Refueling Wing, also based at Fairchild, has been deployed to support Operation Epic Fury.

“We are aware of the situation and Central Command will be the releasing authority on further information,” Shagren said about the KC-135 crash Thursday afternoon.

Fairchild is home to the Air Force’s only “super” wing of Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, with 63 total aircraft as of 2021.

Mathew Callaghan and Orion Donovan Smith contributed to this report.