Since 1957, more than 50 KC-135s have been involved in deadly accidents

The U.S. Air Force’s first jet-powered refueling tanker, the KC-135, entered service in 1957 and had been involved in more than 50 fatal crashes before Thursday’s incident in Iraq.

Five of those deadly accidents were associated with a war: four during the Vietnam War and the fifth being the 2013 deadly crash in Kyrgyzstan, which killed three airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base.

As of press time Thursday, it was still unclear where the tanker that crashed was based.

Fairchild crew members have been killed in two other KC-135 crashes: one in 1999 in Germany and another in 1987 at Fairchild. Two more KC-135s have crashed en route to Fairchild, including a 1967 flight from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, that killed nine, and another in 1962 from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota that killed 44.

Here’s a chronological list of every fatal KC-135 accident, compiled from news archives and the Bureau of Aircrafts Accidents Archives:

2013: Three Fairchild airmen killed in Kyrgyzstan during a refueling mission for Afghanistan war operations amid Operation Enduring Freedom.*

1999: Four crewmen killed in a crash outside of Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base in Germany.*

1989: Four crewmen were killed in an October midair explosion over Carlingford, New Brunswick, Canada while returning to home base in Maine.

1989: Two crewmen died at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska after their aircraft exploded in September on the ground.

1989: Nineteen people died in Janurary, including seven crewmen and 12 family members, shortly after liftoff at the Dyess Air Force Base in Texas when the plane banked right and a wing struck the ground.

1988: Six airmen were killed in a crash after a hard landing at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport in Michigan. Ten others aboard were injured but survived the incident.

1987: Six airmen and one spectator were killed at Fairchild Air Force Base after a KC-135 crashed during rehearsals for an airshow.*

1986: Four crewmembers were killed at Howard Air Force Base in Panama after a hard landing.

1985: Seven crew members killed in August after an engine struck the runway at Beale Air Force Base in California.

1985: Three crew members were killed in February near the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska after a KC-135 crashed into a mountain.

1982: 27 were killed amid a March KC-135 training flight from Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer Air Force Base in Michigan en route to Chicago-O’Hare Airport. An in-flight explosion caused the aircraft to crash in an open field near Greenwood, Illinois.

1982: Four crew members were killed when a KC-135 collided with a civilian aircraft in March over Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

1981: Seventeen crew members and four passengers were killed in May near Walkersville, Maryland, after a series of mechanical and operating failures, whose causes are unknown, caused the plane to become uncontrollable.

1981: Six were killed in May at Shemya Airport in Alaska after crashing into the ground several hundred yards short of the runway.

1979: Five crew members were killed during a landing at Castle Air Force Base in California after the plane went out of control and crashed. Two crew members and another five passengers were rescued.

1977: Five crew members and 15 passengers were killed shortly after takeoff from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico after crashing into a mountain.

1976: Three crew members and 12 passengers were killed in September after the plane “partially disintegrated in the air” for unknown reasons.

1976: Eight crew members were killed in February after a KC-135 flew into a mountain outside of the Torrejon Air Base in Spain.

1975: Four crew members were killed shortly after takeoff from Eielson Air Force Base after crashing into a frozen lake.

1974: Two crew members were killed immediately after takeoff from McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas because of an engine failure.

1973: Two crew members were killed when their aircraft struck another KC-135 on the runway during taxiing at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Ohio.

1972: Four crew members and two passengers were killed in June near Hao Island in French Polynesia following a multiengine failure.

1972: Five crew members were killed at Carswell Air Force Base in Texas after a failed landing.

1971: Six crew members were killed in over Spain. The cause of the crash is unknown.

1969: Four crew members were killed in December after their plane crashed into the sea near Ching Chuan Kang, Taiwan, during a refueling mission.

1969: Five crew members and 14 passengers were presumed dead in June after their plane likely crashed into the Bering Sea. The plane was never recovered.

1968: Six crew members were killed in October after their plane crashed in the mountains near Ching Chuan Kang Air Force Base, Taiwan.

1968: Four crew members were killed at the U-Tapao Air Force Base in Thailand after an engine failure caused a failed takeoff in October.

1968: Eleven passengers were killed on final approach to the Wake Island Airport after flying too low and striking approach lights in September. All four crew members survived, as did another 45 passengers.

1968: Nine crew members were killed in July after crashing into Mount Lassen in California.

1968: Five crew members and eight passengers were killed at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota after losing control of the aircraft immediately following takeoff.

1967: One crew member was killed in a July crash shortly after liftoff from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Another four crew members were rescued.

1967: Nine crew members were killed in January while returning to Fairchild Air Force Base after crashing into Mount Shadow, near Mount Spokane.

1966: Five crewmen and six passengers were killed, as well as a motorist on the ground, after the plane stalled and crashed near Kadena Air Force Base in Japan in May.

1966: Four crew members and one passenger were killed in a May crash outside Amarillo, Texas, while landing.

1966: Four crew members were killed over Spain during a January midair collision with a B-52.

1965: Twelve crew members and 72 passengers were killed in June after the plane struck the slope of Loma Hill in California. This is the single deadliest incident involving the KC-135.

1965: Five crew members were killed in Roswell, New Mexico during a failed liftoff in June.

1965: Four crew members were killed in February over the Atlantic Ocean after colliding into a B-47E-25-DT Stratojet amid refueling.

1965: Seven airmen and 23 bystanders were killed in Wichita, Kansas, after a KC-135 crashed into a suburban neighborhood loaded with 31,000 gallons of jet fuel in January. The ensuing fire engulfed dozens of nearby homes. It was the deadliest aviation disaster in Kansas and the second-deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. involving victims on the ground.

1965: Four crew members were killed in January after three engines were lost midflight due to a cascading failure caused by a missing nut, resulting in a crash.

1964: Four crew members were killed over Death Valley after a midair collision with a Thunderchief.

1963: Eleven crew members were killed over the Atlantic after two KC-135s collided midair in August.

1963: One crew member was killed near Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, due to a failed landing in June. Three crew members survived.

1963: Seven crew members and two people on the ground were killed at Eielson Air Force Base after an engine failed during a February takeoff.

1962: Four crew members and 40 passengers were killed in September while descending to Fairchild Air Force Base after flying too low and crashing into trees near Mount Kit Carson.

1962: Three crew members were killed on final approach to Bedford-Hanscom Field Airport, Massachusetts, due to flying too low in August.

1962: Six crew members were killed at Mt. Kit Carson during a failed liftoff in May.

1960: A passenger was killed at Loring Air Force Base in Maine in November due to a failed landing, though the other 16 occupants survived.

1960: Six crew members and two people on the ground were killed in February shortly after takeoff from Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico.

1959: A KC-135 crashed into a B-52 midair above the farming community of Hardinsburg, Kentucky in October. The B-52 held together long enough for four airmen to eject, surviving the incident; the remaining eight crewmen – four in each aircraft – were killed.

1959: Four crew members were killed in March after losing control midair near Killeen, Texas.

1958: Five crew members were killed in November at Loring Air Force Base during a failed touch-and-go landing.

1958: Seven crew members and eight passengers were killed at Westover Air Force Base during a failed June liftoff.

Editor’s note: Entries in italics are considered to be wartime accidents. Entries that end with an asterisk involved the deaths of Fairchild crew members.